


champions of her heart

by prismvtic



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Drama, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Love Triangles, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Polyamory, Triwizard Tournament, but yvesoul are not having it, lip just wants both of them, lipsoul friends to lovers, side 2jin, side chuuseul - Freeform, side hyewon, side yeorry, yvesoul enemies to lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:28:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 100,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23586904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prismvtic/pseuds/prismvtic
Summary: If you told Jungeun she had to pick between her darling pen pal from Beauxbatons, Jinsol, or her celebrity Quidditch crush from Durmstrang, Yves aka Sooyoung, she’d tell you that was impossible. But when those two worlds collide as Hogwarts hosts the infamous Triwizard Tournament, maybe Jungeun doesn’t have to pick after all. That is if she can stop both of them from fighting over her like children.
Relationships: Ha Sooyoung | Yves/Jung Jinsol | Jinsoul, Ha Sooyoung | Yves/Jung Jinsol | Jinsoul/Kim Jungeun | Kim Lip, Ha Sooyoung | Yves/Kim Jungeun | Kim Lip, Jung Jinsol | Jinsoul/Kim Jungeun | Kim Lip
Comments: 149
Kudos: 603





	1. PROLOGUE

**Author's Note:**

> boom here we go... let's go lipvesoul nation! i hope you're ready for a wild and magical ride!!

**YEAR ONE:**

Kim Jungeun always knew she was special. Her parents let her know at a young age that she was a witch and would one day attend a school to teach her how to control her magic. She would fantasize and daydream about the day she would finally step foot in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was home-schooled until she was eleven years old and hated it. Her Muggle-born mother taught her all the basic Muggle school subjects, much to her father’s surprise. Sometimes he would sit during their lessons and watch with extreme fascination. They hated it; he only distracted Jungeun.

She was relieved when a letter arrived over the summer addressed to her from Hogwarts. The young eleven-year-old squealed in excitement, running around the house and waving her letter like a madwoman. They celebrated that night with a large chicken dinner, and Jungeun couldn’t have been more glad that she had two parents that were knowledgeable and willing to help get Jungeun whatever she needed. She knew a lot of families didn’t have the same privileges as her, and she should be grateful.

They took her to Diagon Alley and got her everything she needed: books, robes, a cauldron, a tawny owl so she could deliver letters, a wand made of rowan wood and dragon heartstring core. Then, her father came bustling out of the Quality Quidditch Supplies with a Nimbus 2010, and her mother nearly hexed him. Jungeun was too young to be on the Quidditch team, but that sure didn’t mean she couldn’t practice at home. Jungeun’s father was always a little bit on the goofy side. She was somewhat convinced her mom married her dad because he would be helpless on his own. She was almost too excited to escape them.

September 1st came quicker than Jungeun thought, and in a blink of an eye, she was saying goodbye to her parents on the train platform.

“You’re going to do great, honey. Your father and I are so proud of you,” her mother said, pressing a kiss to her daughter’s cheek.

“And we’ll love you no matter what house you get! Except for Slytherin, I can’t stand Slytherins,” her father added on.

Jungeun just rolled her eyes and got onto the Hogwarts Express. 

Now, for the first time in her eleven years of life, she was alone and didn’t know anyone, and that was a scary feeling.

Jungeun decided to sit in a compartment alone. It wasn’t that she wanted to be alone, but she didn’t want to look pathetic wandering around looking for new friends. She would let them come to her. Was that how friend making worked? She had no clue.

The compartment door slid open, revealing a small girl with red bangs and a big smile. She had already put her robes on. “Hi! I’m Kim Jiwoo!” she greeted excitedly. “Are you sitting with anyone?”

“Ah, no…?” Jungeun said with some uncertainty.

Jiwoo stepped inside and slammed the compartment door behind her, plopping down in the seat across from her. “Oh, good! No one seemed to want to sit with me. I guess it’s because I’m too loud.” She laughed softly and shook her head. “What’s your name?”

“Kim Jungeun…”

“Oh! Wow, we have the same last name! Does that mean you’re a Muggle-born too? I know it’s a common last name, and I’m Muggle-born so-”

This girl loved to babble. Jungeun shook her head and furrowed her brows. “No, I’m a half-blood. Kim is a common enough last name that both wizards and Muggles have it.”

“Ohh. Wait, what’s a half-blood again?”

“Means I have both Muggle and wizard ancestry. My dad’s a pureblood, and my mom’s a Muggle-born.”

Jiwoo let out a soft huff, lips protruding into a pout. “This is all so confusing. How am I supposed to do well in school when I barely know anything about wizards! Maybe I don’t belong here,” she whined.

Jungeun felt bad for the girl. She seemed sweet and genuine, and Jungeun would be stupid to let this girl roam free without help. Never one to back down from a challenge, Jungeun figured she could be the perfect guide for sweet, naive Jiwoo. “Hey, you belong here. They sent you a letter for a reason.”

She cleared her throat awkwardly and placed a hand on Jiwoo’s knee. “I can be your guide?”

“Can we be best friends?” Jiwoo asked hopefully.

Jungeun paused, eyes widening in shock. Was making friends really that easy? “Yeah, sure-”

“YAY!”

She could hardly react before the girl had practically pounced on her and pulled her into a tight hug. Jungeun tensed up in shock before she returned the hug. This was weird… Nice, but weird. In a good way!

The compartment door opened again, and Jiwoo jumped off of Jungeun, letting out a small shriek.

“Oh! Sorry, I didn’t know there were people here! Chaewon, let’s go somewhere else-”

“No, that’s okay! The more the merrier,” Jiwoo insisted, returning to her seat.

Two girls stepped into the compartment. One with vibrant blonde hair, the other with black pigtails. They took a seat on opposite sides of each other. The black-haired girl turned to Jungeun and held her hand out. “Jeon Heejin, pleasure to meet you.”

Jungeun smiled nervously and shook her hand. “Kim Jungeun, the pleasure is all yours… er, I mean, mine.”

Heejin let out a surprisingly deep laugh. “You’re funny.”

The blonde waved shyly, turning away from her conversation with Jiwoo. “Hi. I’m Park Chaewon,” she greeted.

“Wow, are we all first years?” Jungeun asked in bewilderment.

“Must be destiny that the four of us stick together,” Heejin mused.

Jiwoo let out another excited noise. “Oh! How exciting! We can all be best friends then!”

Chaewon smiled softly. “Yeah, if we all get in the same houses. I don’t even know what house I’ll end up in… My dad’s a Muggle, so I guess I can’t look to him for answers.”

“What house do you think you’ll be in, Chae?” Jiwoo asked, already giving the girl a nickname.

The blonde shrugged. “Ravenclaw, maybe? Or Hufflepuff. I can’t see myself in any other house,” she answered.

Heejin nodded, leaning back against the seat. “I know I’m definitely going to be in Gryffindor. Every Jeon is a Gryffindor. That’s what my dad says anyway.”

“What about you, Jungie?” Jiwoo asked with wide eyes.

Her lips pursed in thought, not entirely sure how to answer that. “Gryffindor. Both of my parents were in it, and red’s my favorite color. Can’t go wrong there,” she concluded with a shrug.

Jiwoo paused and then broke out into a big smile. “I don’t care what house I’m in as long as I’m with Jungie.”

“But Jiwoo,” Heejin protested with eyes as wide as saucers, “you can’t just _pick_ your house like that!”

The red-haired girl laughed and leaned over to boop Heejin’s nose. “Silly Heekkie…” _What is with this girl and nicknames?_ “She just said she’ll be in Gryffindor, so I’ll be in Gryffindor too.”

That was the moment when Jungeun knew Jiwoo would become her dearest friend at Hogwarts, more treasured than anyone else. No one ever could be as selfless as Jiwoo because Jungeun had never seen someone willing to sacrifice their happiness for someone they had met a few minutes ago.

* * *

The Great Hall was _magnificent._ Floating candles, tables filled with students, the night sky sparkling above them; it was everything her parents described to Jungeun and more. The first years were clumped together, making their way down the center aisle. She couldn’t help but feel intimidated by all the students watching her. She was nervous too because the last thing she wanted was to embarrass herself in front of the entire school.

They approached the front and the professor… _What was her name again?_ Professor Lost Name started explaining how the sorting ceremony worked. Alphabetical order, meaning Jiwoo would be right before Jungeun. Oh, no, what if Jiwoo got into Gryffindor, and she didn’t? She would feel so awful if Jiwoo picked a house only for Jungeun not to end up in it.

Her face scrunched up in worry as they called up the first student. She reached over and shyly grabbed Jiwoo’s hand, giving it a tight squeeze. Jungeun could practically feel Jiwoo smiling next to her.

Students got sorted into their respective houses, and the crowd around the Sorting Hat got smaller and smaller.

“Jeon Heejin!”

Heejin smiled widely at Jungeun and their two friends before stepping up to the stool. The hat barely touched Heejin’s head before it screamed, _“GRYFFINDOR!”_

The Gryffindor table erupted in applause as Heejin excitedly bounced over to greet her new housemates. Jungeun couldn’t help but feel proud of her.

Two names later, they read out the name she was half-dreading to hear.

“Kim Jiwoo!”

Jiwoo beamed and skipped up to the stool. Professor Lost Name put the hat on Jiwoo. Silence. Jiwoo’s brows furrowed in concentration, seemingly arguing with the hat on her head. Jungeun squinted and managed to see Jiwoo mouth out slowly, _“I don’t want to be in Hufflepuff. I want to be in Gryffindor.”_

Jungeun’s eyes squeezed shut in fear. She balled her fists up, preparing for the worst.

And then finally, after what felt like centuries of waiting...

_“GRYFFINDOR!”_

Jungeun clapped loudly along with the Gryffindors as Jiwoo happily pranced over to sit next to Heejin. Jungeun didn’t have time to get a good look at them before her name was called.

“Kim Jungeun!”

She took a deep breath and made her way up to the stool, biting her lip as the hat was placed on her head.

_“Ah, this should be an easy one.”_

“Good.”

_“However, I think you could do great things in-”_

“No. Just give me the house you originally thought.”

_“Oh, yes, you’re stubborn. Better be… GRYFFINDOR!”_

Jungeun grinned and fist-pumped the air, getting off the stool and making her way to the Gryffindor table. Jiwoo greeted her with a big hug and patted the seat next to her. Thank goodness the best case scenario ended up happening.

However, there was still one of them left.

“Park Chaewon!”

The blonde sat on the stool with a neutral expression on her features. Several seconds passed before the hat blurted out, _“RAVENCLAW!”_

“Oh, no! Chaewon!” Jiwoo said in despair.

The blonde smiled sadly at the new Gryffindors while she made her way to the Ravenclaw table and sat with the other Ravenclaw first years. 

Jungeun gently nudged Jiwoo’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. Just because she’s in a different house doesn’t mean we can’t be friends! We’ll see her in classes all the time.” She leaned over to get a better look at Heejin and Jiwoo.”Besides, we’re going to be the best first years Gryffindor has ever had!”

Heejin held up her empty goblet with triumph. “To friendship!”

“To friendship!” Jiwoo and Jungeun echoed.

* * *

Jungeun managed to survive her first year thanks to the help of Jiwoo, Chaewon, and Heejin. The girl did fine in all of her classes except for Astronomy, which she would always forget to go to because she went to bed very early. Jiwoo and Heejin constantly tried to wake her up for class; that was a failure. Chaewon managed to find out how to make a potion to help Jungeun stay awake, but the blonde was awful at Potions so she would have to bribe her housemates to make it for her. That worked well enough except for when it would wear off and Jungeun would fall asleep during class. Their help was much appreciated, and in return, Jungeun helped her friends with Transfiguration because that was her strong suit. 

The four of them were always together any chance they could be. Though, Chaewon did make friends in her own house too. She introduced them to Ravenclaw third year Viian Wong in the library. Vivi was a sweetheart and extremely smart. Of course, Jungeun concluded all Ravenclaws were just straight-up nerds.

And at that same time in the library, Jungeun ended up meeting her fourth best friend, Jo Haseul, a Hufflepuff second year. The poor girl was struggling to put a book back because the bookshelf was too tall. She asked Haseul if she had tried the Levitating Charm yet.

“Oh!” Haseul cleared her throat and shook her head. “No, I- I guess I didn’t think of that. Thanks…?”

“Jungeun. Kim Jungeun. Don’t mention it,” she said with a shy smile.

Haseul cast the spell and lifted the book to where it belonged. She smiled warmly at her. “Thank you again. I owe you. What can I do to repay the favor?”

Jungeun shrugged. “I don’t know? Just have a good day?”

Haseul paused in thought before a small blush crept up on her cheeks. “Okay, yeah, I’ll… I’ll have a good day just for you, Jungeun.”

Jungeun smiled at her one last time before making her way back to her friends’ table.

She was sad that her first year seemed to fly by so fast, but she was so grateful for the people she met. She knew that she would have to be writing a lot of letters that summer, and that was better than sitting at home wallowing alone in her boredom.

* * *

**YEAR TWO:**

Jungeun’s hands were constantly cramped by the large number of letters she sent. She was so tired of having to write with quills that she finally asked her mother if there was a Muggle tool like quills. She remembered Chaewon and Jiwoo getting so fed up that they started writing with tiny black sticks, and the ink never seemed to run out. Her mother bought her a whole box of pens. When she wasn’t constantly writing letters or figuring out what the heck a “cell phone” was and how to get one because Jiwoo kept talking about it, she practiced flying in her backyard. Jungeun wanted to be a Keeper, so her father would throw her the Quaffle, and she’d do her best to block it with her tiny body.

And before she knew it, she was back on the Hogwarts Express again with her three best friends. Jungeun had already run into Haseul, but she was sitting with Vivi and a few other Hufflepuffs. She ran up and gave Jungeun a big hug though, excitedly babbling about how much she missed her over the summer.

None of them seemed to be able to find an empty compartment. Jungeun sighed in defeat before being shoved to the side by two first years chasing each other.

“Give it back, Yeojin! I want that Helga Hufflepuff wizard card!”

“You’re gonna have to catch me, Yerim!”

“Children,” Heejin scoffed as if she wasn’t twelve years old herself.

“Guys, here!” Chaewon pointed to a compartment that only had one occupant. A raven haired girl with a grumpy expression had her back mostly faced to them and was staring out the window. “I’ll go and ask…” She timidly opened the door, flinching as the girl snapped her head around to glare at her. “Oh! I didn’t mean to scare you, um, I’m Chaewon. These are my friends Heejin, Jungeun, and Jiwoo. Can we sit here? We won’t bother you. Everywhere else is full…”

The girl paused in thought before stiffly nodding. “Son Hyejoo. Go ahead, I guess…”

Heejin gasped as she took a seat across from Hyejoo with Jungeun and Jiwoo. “Son Hyejoo!? Like as in that werewolf Son-”

“Yeah, the werewolf,” Hyejoo answered. She looked at them uncertainly, gauging Jungeun’s confused and scared reaction. “Don’t worry… I didn’t get my father’s lycanthropy, and he’s long gone now. However, I do have an interesting obsession with rare meat.”

 _“Cool,”_ Chaewon breathed out in awe as she took a seat next to Hyejoo. “I bet you have so many crazy stories.”

Hyejoo laughed and shrugged. “It’s, um, not that cool.”

But Chaewon didn’t seem to have it, and the two engrossed themselves into a deep conversation.

“Well…” Jungeun laughed as she turned to her friends. “Wanna play a game of Exploding Snap?”

“That game’s scary!” Jiwoo protested.

Heejin rolled her eyes. “Don’t lie… You always win, Jiwoo.”

The whole ride up to Hogwarts involved exploding cards that nearly singed eyebrows and soft laughter from the two girls sitting in the seat across from them.

* * *

Jungeun didn’t remember the Sorting Ceremony being _this_ long. It was a nightmare watching all of those first years line up and get sorted. She kept her eyes trained on Hyejoo, curious where she would end up.

“Choi Yerim!”

A bubbly looking girl with brown pigtails took a seat on the stool. Instantly, the hat shouted, _“HUFFLEPUFF!”_

Jungeun looked over to the Hufflepuff table to see Haseul cheering and waving excitedly as her new housemate took a seat at the table. Haseul and Jungeun made eye contact briefly. The third year waved at Jungeun with a big smile, and Jungeun lazily waved back. She felt a little awkward at that moment because she could tell Jiwoo was looking at her with a raised brow.

“What? I’m just waving to a friend,” Jungeun said softly.

Jiwoo nodded, leaning her head on Jungeun’s shoulder. “No, I know. Is Haseul as nice as she looks?”

“So nice. You guys should meet properly.”

“Hm… Okay. I might join the Frog Choir, and I heard she’s in that.”

They turned their attention back to the Sorting Ceremony as a girl named Im Yeojin with an apparent dumpling bun on her head sat on the stool.

_“GRYFFINDOR!”_

Jiwoo screamed in excitement and pulled Jungeun up onto her feet with her. The two friends jumped up and down excitedly as the small first year joined their table. 

Heejin reached over the table and held her hand out for the first year to shake. “Hey, I’m Heejin. Welcome to Gryffindor.”

“Thanks, but I don’t talk to strangers,” Yeojin said bluntly.

Jungeun roared with laughter while Heejin blinked in confusion.

She admittedly started getting very sleepy as the names continued because she only recognized one person still up there, and Hyejoo hadn’t been sorted yet. 

Finally, Professor Young, who Jungeun finally remembered the name of, read out, “Son Hyejoo!”

The dark-haired girl slowly walked up to the stool and closed her eyes as the hat was placed on her head. A few agonizing seconds past. Jungeun briefly glanced over to the Ravenclaw table to see Chaewon with a worried look on her soft features.

_“SLYTHERIN!”_

“What!?” Heejin blurted out while the Slytherins cheered loudly. “She didn’t _seem_ like a Slytherin. Maybe it’s because her father’s a stone-cold criminal!”

“Heeks, it’s not nice to make those assumptions about people,” Jiwoo countered. “I don’t think all Slytherins are bad, except for the one that y’know…”

Jungeun snarled at the memory of that Slytherin boy calling Jiwoo that slur relating to her blood status. “I will hex him if I ever learn a good one. He won’t get away with it.” She sighed gently as Jiwoo hugged her gently in appreciation. She would do anything for her best friend.

Her gaze moved back to the Ravenclaw table to see Chaewon’s reaction. She was gazing longingly at the Slytherin table, and she would bet ten galleons if Jungeun turned around to the Slytherin table, Hyejoo would be looking right back at her. She doubted this would be a setback for their friendship. Chaewon and Hyejoo would find a way to be with each other.

* * *

Like she said she would, Jiwoo joined the Frog Choir, and she loved it. Jungeun was glad Jiwoo seemed to like Haseul a lot because there was nothing wrong with expanding their friend circle at all. Chaewon and Hyejoo were attached at the hip just as Jungeun suspected. Of course, Jungeun still saw and hung out with Chaewon almost every day because she desperately needed the blonde to pass Astronomy. However, nine times out of ten, Hyejoo would always be lurking in the back. Chaewon would laugh and just say, “She’s just very shy.”

The Quidditch team had no open spots, so Heejin and Jungeun had to scramble to find something else to do as an extracurricular activity. Professor Young suggested that they sign up for the foreign exchange program at their school. Since they were only second years, they would first get a penpal from another wizarding school before getting the opportunity to attend another school for up to a year during their fifth year. Jungeun figured she might make a new friend out of it, so why not?

Professor Young told them that their pen pals would be sending their letters to them within the next week. Both Heejin and Jungeun spent every breakfast excitedly waiting for an owl to drop off their letters.

Their friends were sitting at breakfast at the Gryffindor table. Since it was an informal meal, Haseul, Chaewon, and Hyejoo decided to join them. Although some Gryffindors were confused by Hyejoo’s presence, no one seemed to mind too much.

“Haseul! Should I put blueberries or strawberries on my pancakes?” Jiwoo asked the Hufflepuff excitedly.

Haseul smiled softly. “I like both, so put both of them on there?”

“Great idea!”

“Ugh,” Heejin groaned. “I just want my letter already!”

Hyejoo looked at Heejin and raised a brow. “That excited about a letter from your parents?”

“No, Hyejoo! Jungeun and I just want our letters from our penpals.”

“Maybe they decided you two weren’t worth it,” Chaewon joked. Their friends burst out laughing while Heejin turned a bright red. Jungeun just rolled her eyes. Chaewon must have been spending too much time with Hyejoo. And speak of the devil, there came the owls with their letters.

An owl flew by and dropped a package in Haseul’s lap. The brunette cheered as she began opening the package to reveal some new mittens. Jungeun found her reaction very endearing. She opened her mouth to ask Haseul to try them on when a snowy owl flew above her and dropped a pale blue envelope in her lap.. A black owl flew above Heejin and dropped a normal envelope with a few drawings of cats on it right in front of her.

“Our penpals!” Jungeun shrieked in pure excitement.

Everyone turned their attention to Jungeun and Heejin with renewed interest. “C’mon, guys! Open it.”

Jungeun delicately opened hers and looked at the fancy parchment.

_Chère Jungeun,_

_Bonjour! I’m Jung Jinsol, your penpal from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. Is this not exciting? I apologize if you think I’m annoying, but I was so excited when I found out I would be writing to a student from Hogwarts!_

_What is there to know about me? I’m a third year and half-Veela. Yes, like the magical creature! I hope one day I can come to Hogwarts because I’m interested in studying Care of Magical Creatures. I am particularly fond of merpeople. I heard there are some in your lake of yours? Yes?_

_I have come into contact with some fascinating creatures such as wood nymphs, but I hope to meet more and tell you all about it! I wish to hear more about you though. What is it like at Hogwarts? What are your favorite subjects? I hope to hear from you soon!_

_Chaleureusement,_

_Jinsol_

_P.S. I tried to send you chocolates, but Pierre (my snowy owl that took this letter to you) ate all of them. Please give him some treats and feel free to use him if you do not have an owl of your own._

When she looked up from her letter, she saw Pierre gobble the pancakes right off of Jiwoo’s plate. “Hey!” Jungeun shouted. “Stop that, you freak! Jinsol wouldn’t like it if I told her you ate off Jiwoo’s plate.” The owl seemed to perk his head at the mention of his owner’s name and looked at Jungeun intently. Jungeun picked up a chocolate croissant and fed it to Pierre. “Here you go, good boy.”

“Who’s Jinsol?” Haseul asked. “And how do you know the name of that owl?”

“She’s my penpal from Beauxbatons! She’s half-Veela too. Wow, she sounds so cool,” Jungeun gushed. “I’m gonna write back to her tonight. I should try and send her some chocolates too. Hopefully, Pierre won’t eat them when she gets them.”

Heejin let out a small squeak beside her as her letter turned into a paper cat and started purring at her. “Oh my gosh! Hyunjin must be amazing at spells. Look at this!”

“Hyunjin, huh?” Chaewon asked in amusement.

Heejin nodded in affirmation. “Yep. She’s from Durmstrang. I was hoping for someone from Beauxbatons, but beggars can’t be choosers.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll get to indulge in all the Beauxbatons fun for you,” Jungeun laughed as she looked over at her friends and flashed them a smile.

“Just don’t let your penpals replace us,” Jiwoo teased, “or I’ll be really mad.”

* * *

Their penpals didn’t replace their friends, but they did become a big part of Jungeun and Heejin’s life. Heejin would get a letter almost every day, but most of them were drawings of animals. The girl must have been using every owl in the Owlery to send Heejin letters. Jungeun and Jinsol sent each other letters not as often, but they were still frequent. Jungeun would usually get one or two a week. Another year at Hogwarts passed by quickly with the company of her growing friend group and penpals. Jungeun befriended the wild first year Yeojin and got her to stop making Gryffindor lose a bunch of house points, and Haseul introduced cheerful Hufflepuff Yerim to the group.

It was the day before she was supposed to return home for the summer, and she decided she’d write one last letter to Jinsol before her trip to Korea that she told Jungeun about in previous letters.

_Dear Jinsol,_

_What a year it’s been, right? Can you believe we’ve been talking since September? I feel like I’ve learned a lot about you these past eight months, and I hope it’s okay if I call you a dear friend of mine because you’re amazing, Jinsol. While you’re in Korea seeing all the sights and meeting all of those magical creatures, I’m going to practice Quidditch at home like you told me to. Maybe if I get bored I’ll fly my Nimbus all the way to Seoul!_

_I hope this letter gets to you before you leave. I don’t think Celeste would like flying for that long of a time. So I guess writing to you over the summer will be really, really hard. Great, now I’m kind of sad, but I know I’ll hear from you soon._

_I’m not really good with emotional stuff. I feel awkward now, but Jinsol? I’m going to miss you a lot. Please write as soon as you’ve returned._

_Write soon,_

_Jungeun_

Her brows scrunched up as she read over the letter. It was definitely way too on the sappy side, but it was _Jinsol._ She learned over their many months of writing that the girl was clingy and loved compliments. Jungeun’s uptight, “show no emotion” self had to break down a bit just to make her happy.

But it was Jinsol, and Jinsol, no more than Jiwoo, was becoming a very important person in Jungeun’s life.

* * *

**YEAR THREE:**

Jungeun wondered when Jinsol would ever reply to her letter because a week after she sent her letter to France, her owl returned with nothing but a small heart cut out of a piece of paper and her signature. Just an acknowledgment that she got it. Whatever. One good thing that came out of the summer was that her mother agreed that it would be best if she got a cellphone she could use to communicate with her Muggle-born and half-blood friends. She quickly got in contact with Jiwoo, Chaewon, Vivi, and Yeojin, but that was about it. None of their pureblood friends seemed to want to even try Muggle technology.

She spent a week before going to Hogwarts at Jiwoo’s summer cottage by the sea. It was peaceful, and the Kims were wonderful company. Then, early on September 1st, they took a train to King’s Cross to transfer to the Hogwarts Express. They looked a little weird moving from a Muggle train to Platform 9 and ¾ with their trolleys and owls, but Jungeun didn’t care what anyone thought of them as long as she was with her best friend.

Their friend group had grown so large that they took up two compartments instead of one. Chaewon, Hyejoo, Yerim, and Yeojin decided to take one compartment together, while Haseul, Vivi, Jungeun, Jiwoo, and Heejin took the one next to them.

“How was your summer?” Haseul asked.

“Jiwoo, Vivi, and I have been talking all summer. I finally got a cellphone,” Jungeun informed Haseul.

Heejin scoffed. “I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what keyboards are and why the letters are placed there like that. Why aren’t they in alphabetical order? Muggles are so confusing!”

“I think it’s because they put the most used keys by the index fingers?” Vivi paused in thought. “Actually, I have no idea, but I have news for everyone…” She brushed her red hair to the side to reveal a gleaming blue “Prefect” badge. “Guess who was made a prefect?”

“Vivi!” Haseul squealed in excitement and hugged her tightly. “I’m so proud of you.”

Jiwoo bounced over and gave the girls a tight hug. Jungeun noticed that Jiwoo couldn’t stand people hugging unless she was involved in the hug too. It was kind of adorable.

“Jiwoo, come back over here,” Jungeun pouted. “I want a hug.” She got her request when the girl wrapped her arms around her. She rested her chin on Jiwoo’s shoulder as she looked over at Haseul and Vivi. Haseul seemed to have an unreadable expression on her features as she watched Jiwoo and Jungeun hug. Weird. The third year decided not to question it though. Haseul always seemed to act a little shy around Jungeun, more than around someone like Vivi or even Jiwoo. She just figured it was because she was a little intimidating.

Rain began pounding on the window of their compartment, and Jungeun sighed in annoyance. They would have to ride the carriages and pray not to get soaking wet.

* * *

_Chère Jungeun, ♡_

_I wish I could have written back sooner, but unfortunately, I didn’t want to put too much stress on Pierre. He gets so hungry! I literally can’t last a day without him begging me for sweets. I must have spoiled him. So, I know you’re dying to know how my journey to Korea went! I actually got to spend some time in Japan too. You wouldn’t believe what I encountered. I observed a kappa live in action. I was careful not to get too close, so don’t worry! I gave it a cucumber, and it made it so happy!_

_Papa wouldn’t let me seek out any dangerous creatures like demiguises or even dragons, so I’m very sad about that, but I wish you were with me this summer. You’re in your third year, and you said you’d take Care of Magical Creatures for me, right? I hope you do, Jungeun. I’m going to pout a lot if you lied to me._

_As for me, I just started my fourth year! Nothing too exciting happens during my fourth year compared to your third year. By the time you’ll get this, it’ll probably be Quidditch tryouts, so I just wanna say this: Knock them dead, Kim! I told you to practice a lot this summer, and I hope you did. Write me back as soon as you get on the team._

_Bien amicalement,_

_Jinsol_

_P.S. I missed you too. I’m glad we can write again. ♡_

Jungeun exhaled softly as she held the parchment close to her chest. The letter from Jinsol was just what she needed to prepare herself for today’s Quidditch trials. She chose to meet Heejin and Yeojin at the Clock Tower. Gryffindor needed a Seeker, Keeper, and Beater. Heejin said she was perfect for the role, and Yeojin just loved the idea of beating people up with sticks and balls.

She waited patiently on a bench in the courtyard in her practice uniform, scarf barely covering the gold “6” on her chest. She opened the letter up and started reading again. Halfway through the second paragraph, she heard someone clear their throat in front of her.

Jungeun looked up, clearly startled before she recognized who it was. “Oh, hey, Haseul. What are you doing out here?”

Haseul smiled, stuffing her hands into her coat pocket. “Oh… um, the Hogsmeade trip leaves right around now. Aren’t you going?”

“I have Quidditch tryouts.”

“Oh! You’re trying out for the team?”

Jungeun nodded and shrugged. It wasn’t that big of a deal. “Yeah, I’m excited to finally hopefully be on the team.”

Haseul let out a nervous exhale and shifted on the cobblestone below her. Jungeun’s eyebrow arched in confusion. “But are you… going to Hogsmeade later?”

“Yeah, after tryouts.”

“Do you… Do you maybe wanna… Go with me?” Haseul asked in a strained voice.

Jungeun tilted her head to the side. “Like with our group of friends?”

“No! I mean, well, I meant alone just the two of us… like a…” Haseul paused, cheeks flaring up in embarrassment before shaking her head. “You know what? Nevermind! I’m sorry I bothered you, Jungeun.” The Hufflepuff crossed her arms over her chest and scurried off across the wooden bridge to go to Hogsmeade.

She wasn’t sure how to react to that and just shrugged. What was up with Haseul? It was too confusing for her thirteen-year-old brain. She sighed and looked at Heejin and Yeojin’s approaching figures.

“What was that all about?” Yeojin asked, placing her hands on her hips.

Jungeun laughed coolly. “You tell me.”

“Seulie’s probably just having an off day,” Heejin concluded, “but we have no time to dwell on that. Quidditch tryouts are in fifteen minutes. We have to hurry!”

* * *

To no one’s surprise, they made the team. Yeojin was a talented Beater despite her small size but often terrible at aiming. Her hard-hitting had to make up for it. Heejin was super fast on her broom and could spot the snitch from miles away. Jungeun had an amazing knack for doing intricate tricks to block the Quaffle from getting into the goalposts. Most of Jungeun’s free time was taken up with Quidditch practice, so she saw her non-Quidditch friends a little less than usual.

And to make things more interesting, Hyejoo joined the Slytherin Quidditch team as a Beater, so the friendly rivalry was now on. It was always Haseul who egged on the rivalry the most, sporting complete red and gold and insulting the Slytherins. Of course, Jungeun was far from surprised when Chaewon was the only one of their friend group sporting green and silver colors during the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match. They narrowly won that match thanks to Heejin’s brilliant Seeker skills. Yeojin and Hyejoo kept trying to knock each other off their brooms with Bludgers.

The day before the Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw match, Jungeun, Heejin, Jiwoo, and Haseul had just finished their Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson when an out of breath Yeojin came barrelling towards them.

“Jungeun! Jungeun!” she shouted.

Haseul scowled. “Yeojin! Your tie isn’t properly tied,” she scolded, pointing to the tie that was wrapped around her head like a headband.

Yeojin rolled her eyes. “Not much of my concern. This is Quidditch. It’s way more important.” She pulled out a crumpled newspaper from her bag. “Take a look at today’s _Daily Prophet._ ”

Heejin and Jungeun approached Yeojin and glanced over her shoulder to look at today’s edition of the newspaper. Jungeun furrowed her brows in surprise as she read over the headline.

**BULGARIAN NATIONAL QUIDDITCH TEAM MAKES WORLD CUP HISTORY WITH FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD YVES TO PLAY AS SEEKER**

“She’s fifteen!?” Heejin asked in bewilderment. She pointed at the moving picture accompanying the headline. “She doesn’t look a day over seventeen. _Wow._ Jiwoo! Haseul! Come look!”

The girl was tiny standing in her Bulgarian Quidditch uniform next to full-grown men that had to be twice her size, but she looked just as intimidating as them. She had a stern look on her expression, medium length hair blowing slightly in the wind as she looked at the camera. Her team members seemed to be just as stoic as they posed together for the first time as a team. Jungeun admired her. Fifteen years old and playing with a bunch of senior professionals must be terrifying. This Yves girl looked like she belonged though, and that made Jungeun’s stomach flutter.

“She’s… really pretty,” Jungeun admitted quietly. “I’m sure all the boys will be flocking to her.”

Jiwoo laughed. “Oh, Jungie! You do realize male Quidditch fans are the most sexist buttheads to ever exist, right? I almost feel sorry for this Yves girl. She’s going to be put under a lot of scrutiny.”

“Well, I’ll be her #1 supporter then,” Jungeun concluded. “Call me a Yves ‘pick me.’ That’s the right way to use Muggle slang, right?”

“Oh, Jungeun, you are adorable,” Yeojin teased. “I hope we can all go to the World Cup this summer. Seeing her in action would be _so_ cool.”

Jungeun noticed that Haseul had been very quiet during this whole conversation. She tentatively reached over and grabbed Haseul’s bicep. The fourth year squeaked in surprise and turned a bright red. “Seul, are you alright?” she asked, biting her lip. 

The brunette pursed her lips and then nodded. “Yeah, I just didn’t figure that Quidditch players were your type. I guess I’m not-”

“Huh?” Jungeun interrupted her. “No way! Yves kind of scares me. I bet if I even looked at her weirdly she’d send six of those Bulgarians to beat me up. Also, I’m not saying I’m attracted to her or anything.” She laughed nervously and scratched her head. “Haha. That’s a little weird, considering she’s just a moving picture. Haha.”

 _I sound stupid,_ Jungeun thought, but Haseul making that comment made her a little uncomfortable. How was she supposed to know what the heck her type was? She was fourteen, and love never really crossed her mind. She looked back at the picture of Yves again and furrowed her brows. Funny how Haseul assumed Jungeun would be fawning over Yves just because she was pretty. No, she was purely interested in her as a Quidditch player.

* * *

It was the first week of June, and Jungeun had her final exam in Astronomy at midnight. She was determined not to fail this one, so she asked Vivi to make sure no prefects kicked her out while she stayed in the Astronomy tower from after dinner until midnight. The sun was still setting as Jungeun sat on the floor and reviewed her notes. Well, most of the notes were taken by Chaewon because Jungeun missed a lot of classes this year. She was almost certain she was going to fail.

She opened her pack of licorice wands and took a bite out of it as she flipped the page in her textbook. Jungeun froze as she heard someone climb the stairs to the tower. She _told_ Vivi to make sure no one came up to the tower, and obviously, someone managed to get past big, scary Vivi. Okay, Vivi wasn’t that scary. She took another bite out of her licorice wand and waited for the person to finally show themselves.

“Oh, Haseul, what are you doing here?”

Haseul smiled shyly. “I was looking for you. Vivi told me you were here.”

“Oh, well, here I am,” Jungeun laughed awkwardly.

Haseul sauntered across the tower and took a seat on the floor across from Jungeun. Jungeun closed her textbooks and offered her candy. “Want some? I have chocolate somewhere. I might have already eaten it.”

She shook her head. “No, Jungie, it’s okay… I actually came here because I need to tell you something.”

“Okay…”

Haseul scooted closer to her and grabbed Jungeun’s hands. “Jungeun, I have a crush on you.” The words hit Jungeun like a pile of bricks, but she was too shocked to even try and run away. “I don’t know how or why it happened. But at the beginning of this year, I started liking you. You’re so cool and so nice, and it’s hard not to feel something for you. You’re this cool jock that everybody wants to be or be with.”

Jungeun’s stomach churned. She felt like she was going to throw up.

And in an almost broken voice that made Jungeun want to cry, Haseul said, “please don’t tell me I’m alone in my feelings.”

 _I’m so sorry, Haseul,_ Jungeun thought. She pulled a hand away from Haseul’s and covered her mouth. “Haseul, you’re such a sweet girl, and you’ve been so kind to me… But…”

Haseul looked at her with wide eyes and bated breath.

“I just can’t say I like you more than a friend,” Jungeun said the words she knew would shatter her best friend’s heart.

Just like that, Haseul broke down into tears. Jungeun felt awful, so she tried her best to fix it. “It’s not you, Haseul. I promise it’s not you. I’m fourteen years old. How am I supposed to know who I like or what I like? The comment you made about Yves kind of scared me. Do people think I like girls? Is there something that makes people think I like girls?”

“A-Are you homophobic?” she asked in contempt.

“No! Merlin, no!” Jungeun quickly said. “I just…” She thought about those wizard boy bands she listened to a lot when she was a kid, or the Puddlemere United players she had posters of. Then, she thought about Jinsol, who she had no idea what she looked like but assumed was gorgeous because she was half-Veela. And then there was Yves, the _Daily Prophet_ picture of her that hung by her bed was one that she looked at often. She never had to _think_ about sexuality or love because they never were important to her. “I just don’t know what I want.”

Haseul scoffed and stood up. “Of course! I should have known. We probably would have been disastrous together anyway, and you would’ve broken my heart.”

“Haseul, you’re one of my best friends-”

“But I can’t be your best friend if I have all these feelings for you!” she shouted.

Jungeun blinked slowly and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Seul.”

“I’m sorry, too.”

The Hufflepuff walked away and descended the Astronomy Tower stairs. Her sobs echoed and left Jungeun with an empty feeling in her stomach. She was an awful person, but what was she supposed to do? Accepting Haseul’s feelings and pretending to like her would hurt her more than just flat out rejecting her. She would find a way to fix this somehow.

Jungeun sighed and pulled out a parchment to write to the one person who she figured could help her through this.

_Dear Jinsol,_

_I messed up big time. My friend Haseul confessed her feelings for me, and I rejected her because I didn’t like her, but also because I didn’t know what I wanted. Am I a bad person? I don’t even if I like girls, so I couldn’t even answer that question for her. I bet you have it so much easier because you’re half-Veela. I bet you have boys always lining up to ask you out, and you have so many people wrapped around your finger. I’ve never even thought about love, but what if Haseul is the only person to ever show feelings for me?_

_I know we never talk about love, feelings, or romance, but I just can’t stop thinking about it. I don’t want to lose Haseul, and I’m worried if it turns out I do like girls, she’ll feel like a total chump. I’ve never been so sensitive. I really want to cry._

_That’s all from me. I have an Astronomy exam in a little bit, but I just needed to rant. I hope to hear from you soon, Sol._

_Your friend,_

_Jungeun_

Jungeun failed her Astronomy exam, and it wasn’t because she fell asleep. She was crying too hard to see the actual constellations in the sky.

* * *

**YEAR FOUR:**

_Ma chère Jungeun, ♡_

_I’m so sorry to hear what happened between you and your friend! I wish I could give you a big hug. It sucks when you have to reject someone dear to you. I’ve had to reject a lot of people, and it doesn't get easier. Contrary to your assumption, it’s mostly girls lining up to see me, but I much prefer women talking to me than men. I like girls if the previous sentence didn’t make it clear, but I don’t like rejecting them all the time._

_If you need anyone to talk to you about your sexuality, I’m always here, Jungeun. Whatever you need. ♡_

_The Quidditch World Cup is two months away! This year it’s in France, so my family and I will be going. It’s at a little marsh called “Parc naturel régional des caps et marais d'Opale” which in English means “Regional Natural Park of the Caps and Opal Marsh.” Attached are nine tickets for you and your friends and family to join me in my family’s box at the match! I would really love it if you could come. My father has been desperate to meet you, and I’m going to give you the biggest hug once we meet in person._

_Please let me know as soon as possible if you are attending and who. Don’t worry about paying me back for the tickets. My father is a member of ICWQC, and we get free tickets courtesy of them._

_À bientôt !_

_Jinsol ♡_

“Woah, Jungeun, your penpal must be super important to the French if we got a luxury box!” Yerim said excitedly.

They arrived at the marsh via portkey. Their large group included Jungeun and her parents, Jiwoo, Heejin, Chaewon, Hyejoo, Yerim, and Yeojin. Jungeun tried to invite Haseul, but she got a shortly worded letter that she and Vivi were going on a camping trip instead. At least she had the decency to decline Jungeun’s invitation.

Hyejoo was holding onto a stumbling Chaewon, who had never traveled by portkey before. Jiwoo, Yerim, and Yeojin were looking around in awe as they watched all of the witches and wizards pass by. Jungeun and her parents were both looking at the map trying to find where their tent reservation was.

“Gosh, some of these tents are huge!” Jiwoo remarked. “Is it true that magic tents have big insides?”

“Yes,” Hyejoo said. “The big ones are about the size of mansions. My mom has one that’s probably as big as a castle.”

“Do you really need a tent the size of a castle?” Chaewon asked with a cute giggle.

Yeojin snorted and rolled her eyes. “To escape how disgusting you two are being, yes.”

Both girls shut up after that.

“Ah! Here we are,” her dad announced. “Wait, wow we’re next to the biggest tent ever. It’s so… blue!” He pulled out his wand and smiled. “Okay, kids! Jungeun’s mom and I are gonna set up the tent. I’ll give you guys each ten galleons, and you can spend it on whatever you want!”

Yeojin screeched loudly. “THANK YOU, MR. KIM!”

As soon as Jungeun got her pouch of galleons, she turned to her friends. “Well, guys, what should we do first-”

Just as she asked that question, the blue tent flaps opened, and a girl with long blonde hair stepped out of the tent. She could easily be described as ethereal. Her perfectly chiseled jawline with her adorable cheeks, blonde hair cascading slightly over her face. A hint of a cheerful smile formed on her red lips. Her beauty was indescribable, almost too good to be true. She crossed her arms over her white blouse and smiled at the group. “Which one of you is Kim Jungeun?”

Jiwoo jabbed her finger into Jungeun’s temple. “She is. Please don’t kill us, pretty lady!”

“Hey!” Jungeun scowled before suddenly realizing who she was, “wait, Jung Jinsol?”

“Hi,” the blonde greeted in a soft voice.

Jungeun squealed excitedly and threw her arms around the blonde. Jinsol picked her up and spun her around, and Jungeun almost wanted to cry because she couldn’t believe she was hugging her friend of nearly two years. “Oh my gosh! I can’t believe it’s you! You’re real, and you-” _You smell like vanilla,_ she wanted to say, but she figured that would be weird for a first greeting.

Eventually, they had to break the hug. Jungeun smiled and turned to her friends. “Guys, this is my penpal from Beauxbatons, Jinsol.” She smiled and introduced her friends from left to right. “Jiwoo, Heejin, Chaewon, Hyejoo, Yerim, and Yeojin.”

“Nice to meet you all,” Jinsol said cordially.

Heejin grabbed Jiwoo’s arm. “I bet you guys have a ton of catching up to do, so we’ll all go explore on our own. You two can have fun on your little _outing,”_ she said teasingly.

Jungeun rolled her eyes at Heejin. “You’re weird. Stop it.”

Jinsol giggled gently, sounding like a pure angel. “Come on, Jungeun, let’s go have some fun!” She grabbed Jungeun’s hand and pulled her off into the crowd. Yeah, Jungeun would let the girl take her anywhere.

* * *

Spending time with Jinsol was amazing. When they weren’t watching the Quidditch games together, they were laughing and talking for hours. Jungeun also noticed that Jinsol’s hair seemed to glow in the moonlight, and well, Jungeun couldn’t lie about not finding that attractive. Jungeun figured it was just the Veela charm that was getting to her. No, she didn’t believe veelas could just enchant men.

The final match was between Bulgaria and France, a highly anticipated game because the young seeker Yves had been performing fantastically during the matches. Their box was filled with a wave of pale blue and red. Jinsol, Chaewon, Hyejoo, and Yerim all sported the French colors, while Jungeun, Jiwoo, and Yeojin sported Bulgarian colors. Heejin wore half-French and half-Bulgarian colors. She insisted it was because she loved France, but she wanted to show support for her pen pal Hyunjin’s country.

“Is it wrong that I don’t see the hype over Yves?” Jinsol asked, mouth extremely close to Jungeun’s ear.

Jungeun gasped in horror. “What!? Why don’t you like Yves?”

“I think she’s overhyped.”

“Among men, yes,” Jungeun agreed, “but not among women.”

Jinsol laughed loudly and shook her head. “Oh, my dear, Jungeun. I think you’ve been living under a rock.”

_“INTRODUCING THE BULGARIAN NATIONAL QUIDDITCH TEAM… DIMITROV, IVANOVA, LEVSKI, VULCHANOV, VOLKOV, ZOGRAF… AND YVES!”_

A roar of women screaming erupted in the stands as the players flew around the pitch. Jungeun held her binoculars up to get a better look at Yves. She had black paint on her cheeks, and her dark hair was tied up into a bun. She looked ready for war. It wasn’t until a bunch of those women started chanting “YVES, YVES, YVES!” over and over again, she realized she was wrong.

“Oh,” Jungeun said dejectedly, “so she’s very popular among women.”

“Exactly,” Jinsol clicked her tongue, “and she’s also very young. These people shouldn’t be going so crazy over a fifteen-year-old. Some Beauxbatons girls still fantasize about one day meeting Yves and having her sweep them off their feet.”

Jungeun shrugged and stayed silent.

“For all you know, Yves could be an arrogant asshole that hates everyone. I’d keep the fantasies about her to a minimum.

“Thanks for the warning,” Jungeun laughed. _But I’m not gonna follow it._

The match was intense, more than a Hogwarts Quidditch match could ever be. France was amazing at scoring goals, but neither of the Seekers had found the snitch yet. She was heavily rooting for Yves though and kept her gaze on her the entire time. At one fateful point during the match, Yves stopped her broom in front of their box. The poor girl looked out of breath and exhausted. Finding the snitch in a big arena like this must have been impossible, so Jungeun decided to do something very brave and probably very stupid.

“Yves! I love you!” she shouted.

Yves froze up and looked down, making direct eye contact with Jungeun. The Seeker’s face turned a bright red and a shy smile formed on her lips before composing herself and blowing a kiss to Jungeun. Then, the snitch flew right past her face, and Yves was on the hunt again.

Jungeun sighed dreamily. “Did that just happen?”

“Show business,” Jinsol grumbled in annoyance. She put an arm around Jungeun sort of possessively. “She probably didn’t mean it, besides… didn’t you say you were straight or questioning?”

She looked over at Yves who was now chasing the snitch at high speed. She did a barrel roll to avoid a Bludger and then grabbed the snitch nimbly. The crowd erupted in cheers. Jungeun and Jinsol immediately forgot about their conversation and hugged each other tightly while jumping up and down. One was happy because Yves caught the snitch; the other was happy because France won the Quidditch Cup with a score of 200-190.

Jungeun leaned in and pressed her lips to Jinsol’s ear. “Yeah, I am most definitely, 100% not straight.”

* * *

Jungeun found out the hard way that Haseul and Vivi were dating each other. Jiwoo and Jungeun were studying in the library late when Haseul and Vivi walked in holding hands. Jiwoo looked up from her books and frowned. “Are Haseul and Vivi… dating?”

She looked up at Jiwoo and shrugged. “Oh, good for them,” she remarked.

Jiwoo sighed, lips curving into a deeper frown. She began putting her books away and packing up her other stuff.

Her eyes narrowed. “Jiwoo? Are you leaving?”

“Yeah, I…” she gulped and looked over in the direction of Haseul and Vivi, wincing when she saw Haseul stroke Vivi’s cheek. “I’m gonna finish some work in the common room.”

“Oh, okay,” Jungeun said suspiciously. “See you back in the dormitory?”

“You betcha,” Jiwoo breathed out.

As her best friend left the library in a hurry, Jungeun pulled out her parchment and decided to write to Jinsol. They hadn’t been able to write that much lately, but Jinsol said that Jungeun shouldn’t worry too much, and Jinsol was just very busy.

_Hey Jinsol,_

_I’m currently studying in the library now thinking about you. I sometimes wish we could go back to the Quidditch World Cup where we both had the free time to run around and just be two crazy girls in a big crowd. I know you don’t approve of it, but I finally hung up those Yves posters you bought me at the World Cup. To be fair, you did buy them for me, so how was I not supposed to put them up?_

_The year so far has been kind of dull. We narrowly beat Slytherin in the first Quidditch match, but Hufflepuff defeated Ravenclaw. I’m hoping we can cream Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, so we can win the Quidditch Cup this year. Wish you could come watch us play!_

_I miss you so much, Jinsol. I hope we can somehow find a way to see each other soon because I hate to be all soft, but meeting in person you had to be the best thing that happened to me this year. I can ask my parents if I can come to France over the summer? Or even better, you can come up to England!_

_I hope you’re doing well. ♡_

_Yours truly,_

_Jungeun_

“Jungeun.”

“AH!” Jungeun shrieked in surprise and turned around. Haseul was standing behind her with her hands on her hips. “You scared me. Why’d you do that?”

Haseul raised a brow. “The library’s closed now. You need to leave. You have ten minutes to be in your common room before curfew ends.”

“Since when are you the boss of me?” Jungeun snorted.

“Since I became a prefect,” Haseul said sternly, showing off her yellow badge on her robes.

“Oh…” Jungeun’s voice trailed off, “shit.”

Haseul let out a short laugh. “C’mon. I’ll escort you back to the Gryffindor common room.”

They left the library and walked in silence across the castle. Jungeun never felt more awkward being with Haseul, and they were supposed to be best friends. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife… with some difficulty. Jungeun knew they had to talk about last year. “Hey… Haseul, about last year…”

Haseul’s breath hitched. “Jungeun, w-we don’t have to talk about it. I’m over it now.”

“Okay,” Jungeun mumbled, “but I just wanna say, you were right about me liking girls.” The confession shocked Haseul because she heard the girl next to her stop suddenly. Jungeun stopped walking and turned to face her. “I really don’t want to lose you as a friend, but I get it if you can’t be friends with me because you used to like me. I want to at least have things be cordial between us. Is that okay?”

The fifth year didn’t reply at first, and Jungeun figured that she was going to say no, but then, she felt small arms wrap around her. Jungeun quickly returned the hug. “Oh, Jungie, I missed you so much. Of course, I want to be friends again. I just didn’t want my stupid feelings ruining everything, but now that they’re gone… I think we’ll be okay.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

* * *

“I think Hyejoo and Chaewon like each other,” Heejin said, glancing over at the girls who were playing Wizard Chess at the Ravenclaw table across the Great Hall.

Jiwoo burst out laughing, shifting her head which was currently in Jungeun’s lap. Yeah, they cuddled and did stuff like this a lot, and it was totally platonic. “If this is news for you, you haven’t been paying attention to the world since your second year.”

“At first I thought they were really close, now I think it’s more than that,” Jungeun agreed. “I wish they would just admit it already. Chaewon literally ditched us to go to Hogsmeade alone with Hyejoo last visit!”

“But it’s young love,” Jiwoo pouted.

Just then, the Great Hall doors swung open loudly. A few people gasped and started whispering loudly. Jungeun didn’t want to look over to see what the commotion was. It was probably Professor Taemin walking up to see the results of the House Cup so far. The headmaster usually was very invested in it and often threw loud tantrums if his house wasn’t in the lead.

Jungeun heard someone clear their throat behind her. She turned around and gasped suddenly. There Jinsol was, standing in all her half-Veela glory with her blonde hair moving slowly on its own, in the flesh and blood. “Jinsol!” She squealed excitedly, nearly knocking Jiwoo to the floor as she stood up excitedly and pulled her friend into a tight hug. “Wait, what are you doing here?”

Jinsol hugged her back and kissed both of Jungeun’s cheeks. “Jungeun! You idiot, did you forget? I’m spending my semester abroad here. Fifth years get to choose to do that! I’m so glad I found you right away. Look!” She showed off her outfit. She was not donned in the typical Beauxbatons attire but instead wore the blue and bronze robes of Ravenclaw. “I had no idea your school had a hat that determined where you would be living!” She looked down at Jungeun’s robes and pouted. “Oh, right, you’re a Gryffindor,” she said sadly.

“No, you won’t be alone,” Jungeun protested and turned to face the Ravenclaw table. “Chaewon!” The blonde Ravenclaw perked her head up from her Wizard Chess game. “Come over here! Jinsol needs a guide because she was sorted into Ravenclaw!”

“She can help later, Kim,” Hyejoo hissed. “Chae and I are busy.”

Chaewon gave Hyejoo a reassuring smile and squeezed the girl’s hand. “I’ll be right back, Hyejoo. I promise.”

“I’m holding you to that promise…”

Jiwoo rubbed her head and scowled, finally composing herself after being knocked off of Jungeun’s lap. “Ow, you almost killed me, Jungie!”

“Keyword: almost.”

Jinsol beamed widely at them. “Oh, I can’t wait to spend the spring semester here at Hogwarts. We’re all going to become best friends!”

Jungeun couldn’t wait to see Jinsol every day for almost six months either.

* * *

Everybody loved Jinsol like really loved her. Boys and girls would line up to talk to her, but she wasn’t interested in them at all thankfully. Jinsol and Jungeun rarely left each other’s side. In fact most days she’d find Jinsol waiting for her outside of the Gryffindor common room to walk to meals together. When Jungeun was at Quidditch practice, Jinsol would go down to the Black Lake and attempt to communicate with the merpeople. She hadn’t gotten there yet, but she was determined to have at least one cordial interaction with one by the end of the semester.

The way she naturally inserted herself into their friend group was also admirable. Jungeun remembered one fond interaction between the ten of them during a free period. Chaewon had tried to dye her hair black but was scowling in frustration when her hair started to slowly turn blonde again while they were all sitting there.

“It’s because you have Veela blood in you,” Jinsol answered, surprising everyone.

“Me!?” Chaewon asked, stunned, “but my father’s a Muggle!”

Jinsol just smiled and shrugged. “You must not be a Muggle-born then. You said your mother died in childbirth? She must have at least been half-Veela.”

Chaewon looked at Hyejoo and then back to Jinsol and beamed widely. “Woah. Awesome.”

Later, after a bunch of digging through lineage books, Jinsol and Chaewon found out they were distant cousins.

Jinsol and Jungeun had gotten even closer. Jinsol was always so clingy, and Jungeun normally wasn’t a very affectionate person except with Jiwoo, but Jinsol always had to be touching her or hugging her. She pretended like it didn’t affect her and was annoyed by it, but the minute Jinsol stopped hugging her or giving her affection, she got really pouty. She also found herself staring at the blonde more often, but she swore it was the Veela charm drawing her in. Sometimes she noticed Jinsol staring at her in the same way, but she figured it was because she had food on her face.

But did Jungeun like Jinsol? No way. Jinsol was way too pretty, smart, elegant, and perfect for her.

Okay, maybe she had a small crush, but that was the extent of any romantic feelings she had for Jinsol.

Besides, Quidditch would always come before girls. Always.

Gryffindor had made it to the Quidditch Cup final that year after flattening both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Jinsol was in the audience during both of those matches, so she figured the blonde had become her good luck charm. The final was against Slytherin, and the score was tied 70-70. Heejin had not caught the snitch yet.

Jungeun gripped onto her broom tightly and looked around in the stands. Most of the school was decked out in red and gold, but the Slytherin section was a solid green and silver. She spotted her friends in the stands to the right. Almost everyone was wearing red and gold except for Chaewon, who donned Hyejoo’s Slytherin scarf. _Cute._

Her attention was brought back to the pitch when she noticed three Slytherin chasers heading straight for her. _Crap. Where the heck is Yeojin?_ She looked up briefly to see the tiny girl aiming a Bludger at Hyejoo. _No, you stupid idiot! Hyejoo can just hit it back. Gosh, this isn’t child’s play-_

The middle chaser threw the Quaffle towards the right goal. Jungeun quickly swerved her broom to the right and lunged, Quaffle hitting her right in the face. The ball fell to the ground, and Jungeun felt a searing pain from her lips. She held her fingers up to it. Blood. The Quaffle split her lip.

The crowd seemed to love it though as they roared and cheered for Jungeun’s awesome save. She saw Jinsol cup her hands over her mouth and start chanting, “Kim Lip! Kim Lip!”

More people started joining in. The new chant for their Keeper was her last name and the Quaffle’s worst nightmare: her lips.

_“KIM LIP! KIM LIP! KIM LIP!”_

She laughed and blew a kiss to the crowd, well aware of how hard her lower lip was bleeding. She glanced up at the sky, noticing Heejin taking a big dive and then swiping the Golden Snitch out of the sky.

They did it. Gryffindor won 220-70.

Jungeun screamed loudly and descended, running towards Heejin at full speed. “Heejin!” she shouted, “Heejin! You did it!”

“Kim Lip!” Heejin shouted back as she got off her broom and held the snitch high in the air.

Jungeun laughed loudly and pulled her best friend into a bone-crushing hug. More people began swarming the pitch and celebrating. Professor Taemin eased his way in, showing off the Quidditch Cup gloriously. He handed it to Jungeun, who held it up triumphantly.

She felt gentle arms snake around her waist, and Jungeun quickly turned around to see who it was. Jinsol smiled brightly down at her. “Jinsol…”

“I’m so proud of you, Jungeun,” Jinsol said softly.

And then, she did something Jungeun never expected, she kissed her. Jungeun was frozen in her spot before gently kissing back. She had no idea why they were doing it, but it felt right, so why not?”

Jinsol pulled away and gagged. “Agh, gross, blood!”

“Sorry…” Jungeun said sheepishly.

“It’s okay. It was a good celebratory kiss, right?”

“Right…”

So it was only a celebratory kiss… do people kiss each other in celebration in France? Jungeun had no idea, but she did her best to hide her disappointment.

Jinsol grabbed Jungeun’s hand and pulled her away from the crowd. “C’mon! Let’s go party!”

* * *

Neither of them mentioned the kiss again, and Jungeun was almost certain Jinsol had already forgotten about it. It must have meant nothing then. Just a celebration kiss. People around school started calling her “Kim Lip” or “Lip” which was a little weird, but at least Jungeun was a local celebrity. In the last few weeks Jungeun had with Jinsol, she spent as much time as she could with the girl. Jiwoo and Heejin were a bit pouty, but they understood that Jungeun wouldn’t probably see Jinsol again for a long time.

Those last few weeks were very bittersweet. Some days Jungeun felt like crying because she didn’t want Jinsol to leave. Of course, they could keep writing to each other, but it wasn’t the same as being together in person all the time. Jungeun debated telling Jinsol about her crush. Was it worth it? Or would it not matter in the long run because it would probably die out as soon as Jinsol left? Leaving it unsaid was probably for the best, especially since Jinsol didn’t seem to feel the same way.

A carriage drawn by winged horses had come to pick Jinsol up and bring her back to France. Their friends stood in front of her carriage to give Jinsol their goodbyes. Jungeun ran a hand through her now blonde (yes, blonde) hair. Jinsol decided to dye it for her as a going-away gift. And honestly? Jungeun looked really good with blonde hair. Jinsol made her rounds with all their friends. Vivi, Haseul, Yeojin, Yerim, Hyejoo, Chaewon, Heejin, Jiwoo, until she finally got to Jinsol.

The girl’s eyes watered the minute she made eye contact with Jungeun. Jungeun let out a soft exhale and hugged her tightly. “It’s okay, Jinsol. It’s okay.”

Jinsol sniffled and cried into Jungeun’s shoulder. “I’m so thankful I got to spend this time with you. I wish we had more time… I wish I could tell you…” She sobbed loudly and squeezed Jungeun tightly.

“You don’t have to say anything, Sol. I know,” she whispered. The girls pulled away, and Jungeun leaned in. She wondered silently if this was the right time to kiss her or not. Remembering the reason why Jinsol had kissed her before, she quickly moved her head and kissed Jinsol’s cheek instead. “Take care, Jinsol. Write to me as soon as you can.”

Jinsol smiled sadly with a hint of disappointment on her features. _“Adieu, ma chère.”_ She turned around and got on the carriage.

Jungeun started bawling when she watched the carriage fly away, and Jiwoo had to hug her tightly to console her.

* * *

**YEAR FIVE:**

Haseul had warned that the fifth year was the hardest because of OWLs, yet she had gotten perfect scores in almost every single subject. She wanted to be the next Minister of Magic, so she said she wanted to have the best grades possible. Jungeun couldn’t help but laugh; however, Haseul would make a good Minister of Magic.

Poor Jungeun was swamped with homework and great dread when she realized that she had to work even harder to get a passing grade in Astronomy. That was more terrifying than facing a boggart during the DADA exam. Haseul also told her that performing a Patronus charm gave bonus points during the exam. No way Jungeun could do that so soon.

“This is so hard,” Jungeun whined to Jiwoo, who had been made Gryffindor’s new prefect. Between Heejin, Jungeun, and her, Jiwoo was probably the better candidate. Jungeun had gotten a lot of detentions from missing class, and Heejin was going abroad during the spring to Beauxbatons. Jungeun wanted to go with Heejin, but she didn’t get her application in on time. Poor Jinsol was probably expecting her. She brushed her thoughts aside as she pulled a Herbology book from the shelf. “I can’t believe they expect fifteen year olds to dedicate their entire year studying their asses off for exams!”

“Poor Vivi has her NEWTs,” Jiwoo agreed. “Haseul has been so stressed trying to help her out and balance her own school year. She shouldn’t be Vivi’s crutch! I love Vivi, but Haseul won’t always be there to help her out. Haseul needs to focus on her future too-”

“Hey, Jiwooming? I don’t think it’s that deep.”

Jiwoo frowned. “I’m just worried about Haseul.”

They passed Heejin, Yeojin, and Yerim, who were sitting near the window. Heejin was looking intensely at a French translation of _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_ and trying her best to say the French words out loud. Yerim and Yeojin sat around a box of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans and were daring each other to try the disgusting looking ones.

“Hey!” Jiwoo said in annoyance. “No eating in the library!”

“Or what?” Yeojin taunted, popping another bean in her mouth.

“Five points from Gryffindor.”

Heejin scowled and looked up from her book. “Now look what you’ve done, beanhead. We’re going to lose the House Cup.”

Yeojin huffed loudly and threw the box at Heejin. “Suck my beans, Jeon.”

Yerim frowned and put a hand on Yeojin’s shoulder. “Hey, Yeo, you don’t wanna get detention, right? Let’s cool it.”

Jungeun and Jiwoo continued making their way to the front of the library. “You’re such an uptight prefect, Jiwoo,” she remarked.

“I’ve been getting tips from Haseul,” Jiwoo said fondly, looking over at Chaewon and Hyejoo sitting at a table together. “Shh, let’s spy on the lovebirds.”

“Um, Chaewon…”

“Yeah?” The blonde fifth year looked up and smiled at her younger friend.

“D-Do you wanna go to Hogsmeade this weekend?”

Chaewon giggled as she flipped a page in the book she was reading. “Obviously.”

“No, I mean…” Hyejoo cleared her throat. “I wanna go to Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop together.”

“Oh…”

Jungeun watched the interaction with bated breath, clutching onto Jiwoo’s hand for dear life.

“That’s the place where the couples go, right?” Chaewon asked.

Hyejoo nodded meekly. “Um, yeah.”

“Okay!” Chaewon beamed brightly. “We can go together. Just the two of us.”

Jiwoo let out a squeal, and Jungeun quickly covered Jiwoo’s mouth. Hyejoo whipped her head around and turned a bright red, glaring at the two Gryffindors in horror and embarrassment.

Jungeun let out a nervous chuckle. “We didn’t see anything!” she said quickly before dragging Jiwoo away because Hyejoo looked like she was about to jinx both of them.

They walked briskly to the front of the library where Haseul and Vivi sat at the table in the front. She was struggling with her Ancient Runes essay, and Haseul kept suggesting that they take a break, but the Hogwarts’s new Head Girl seemed to be insistent on getting the essay done. Jiwoo and Jungeun slid into the bench across from them.

“Hey, Jungeun, your blonde hair faded,” Vivi remarked.

“Oh, yeah, I know. I might dye it again some time, but I missed my brown hair.”

Haseul finally looked up from her work. “Oh! Hi, Jungeun and Jiwoo! I’m just helping Vivi here, but actually… Oh!” She reached over and pulled something out of the bag. “Jungeun, did you read today’s _Daily Prophet?”_

“Can’t say I have, why?” Jungeun asked.

Haseul placed the paper in front of her. “Page 12. There’s a short interview with your favorite Quidditch player Yves.”

 _“Nice,”_ Jungeun exhaled excitedly as she opened the newspaper up.

**SHORT CHAT WITH THE BULGARIAN NATIONAL QUIDDITCH TEAM’S YOUNG PRODIGY YVES**

**_By: Ryu Sera_ **

_I had the pleasure of briefly talking to one of the biggest names in the International Quidditch sphere, Yves! She’s sixteen now and currently in her sixth year at Durmstrang Institute. Fans around the world were awed by how exceptional she played against professional Quidditch players twice her age! I asked her a few questions, and she gave me a few short answers._

**_How does it feel being the most talked about Seeker in the world?_ **

_Weird. To me, I feel like I’m just a sixteen year old witch, but everybody treats me like some sort of celebrity. It’s kind of nice having the whole world like you. I just hope that they will continue to like me when I’m the same age as my seniors are now._

**_Do you find it hard to balance your Quidditch life and schoolwork?_ **

_My fourth year was definitely hard for me. I had to balance hardcore training for the team on top of my schoolwork, and some days I felt like I should quit. My coach said I was doing brilliant work, and that was enough for me._

**_How did it feel playing at the World Cup when you were only fifteen?_ **

_Shocking and scary. There were at least a hundred thousand people there all cheering and screaming for me and against me. It was one of the most intimidating things I ever had to deal with. I can’t wait to play again when I’m nineteen though. I definitely won’t be as nervous._

**_What is your fondest memory of playing at the World Cup?_ **

_Well, catching the snitch was a huge deal for me. Even though Bulgaria didn’t win, I think catching the snitch was a big victory for us. My teammates were so proud of me. They treat me like their little sister, y’know? It’s kind of cute. But I can’t credit my snitch catching ability to just my skill alone. There was a time during the game where I really wanted to quit. I was so tired and overwhelmed. Then, I heard someone shout, “Yves! I love you!” I turn my head and look down to see the prettiest girl I had ever seen. Merlin, I can’t even remember what she looked like! I just know that I was thinking, “What? Me? I have to catch the snitch for this girl!” That gave me all the confidence I ever needed._

Jungeun stopped reading and laughed loudly. “Wow. I literally shouted ‘I love you’ at Yves during the World Cup. It would be really funny if this article was about me,” she mused. She shook her head and folded up the newspaper, handing it back to Haseul. “I don’t know why Jinsol doesn’t like Yves. She seems very humble.”

“It could be a persona,” Haseul replied. “Celebrities put on one all the time.”

Jiwoo laughed. “Is a sixteen year old smart enough to know how to manipulate the public? Could _you_ manipulate the public, Haseul?”

“I bet I could. I’m in a position of power… if I told everyone Peeves was going to attack the library, they’d probably believe me.”

“But you’re not going to do that because that’s an abuse of power, right?” Vivi asked with a raised brow.

Haseul nodded. “Yeah… Of course…” she trailed off.

Jungeun gave Jiwoo a side-eyed glance. The redhead seemed to be fuming at the interaction between Vivi and Haseul. She placed a hand on Jiwoo’s thigh in an attempt to calm her down.

She had a strong suspicion that Jiwoo liked Haseul.

* * *

All this busy work left Jungeun so stressed out, and her friend group definitely felt the loss when Heejin left for Beauxbatons. The Gryffindor dormitory felt empty without Heejin in it, and the Quidditch team felt even emptier. With no Seeker, the Quidditch team could not find anyone to remotely match Heejin’s talent, so Jungeun had to accept that unfortunately they probably wouldn’t win the Quidditch Cup that year. Yeojin was a poor replacement.

Chaewon and Hyejoo had been going to Madam Pudifoot’s every Hogsmeade visit, but neither would answer Jungeun’s question about whether they were going out or not. Vivi and Haseul had been arguing more often than not, leaving Haseul to go to Jiwoo for comfort. Jungeun would sometimes be awoken by Jiwoo returning late from prefect duty. 

It wasn’t Jungeun’s business to meddle in her friends’ love lives when she didn’t have one of her own. Well, she blew her only possible chance of a love life, even if Jungeun and Jinsol were still very flirty in their letters. Jungeun was almost positive she was over her crush. But sometimes, at night, she would read all of her old letters and fantasize about what would have happened if she decided to kiss Jinsol when she left. Just like what she was doing now while “studying” for her OWLs.

_Ma très chère Jungeun, ♡_

_Heejin fits into Beauxbatons perfectly. Everyone loves her here, my friends especially. She speaks in a bit of broken French, but she’s slowly getting better. My only regret is that you’re not here with me. I know it’s not your fault, but I would have loved to have you here with me at Beauxbatons. I almost cried today when I walked the gardens with Heejin. She told me your favorite flowers are red roses, is that true? I would’ve sent you a bouquet if I had known._

_I know you are busy, and I’m so busy too. I can’t believe they’re making you do your OWLs in your fifth year. I’m suffering now! I wish I was back at Hogwarts snuggled up next to you by the fire while we do our homework. That was one of my favorite things to do with you. This year has been particularly hard for me. I guess I got used to having you around me, and it’s horrible now that you’re not!_

_I know I’m repeating myself, but if you’re all I can think about… it’s hard not to talk about anything else. I hope we can see each other over the summer. Otherwise, Heejin has been keeping me great company since you can’t. Haha, that came off kind of wrong, but you know what I mean._

_Je t’aime, Jungeun. Write as soon as you can. I’ll be waiting. ♡_

_Affectueusement,_

_Jinsol ♡_

“She’s so cute…” Jungeun mumbled quietly, hugging the letter close to her chest.

The portrait door swung open suddenly, and in came Jiwoo with a wide-eyed expression. Jungeun sat up on the couch and looked at her in surprise. “Jiwoo?” Her best friend jumped and then gave her a soft look, clearly on the verge of tears. “Jiwoo, what’s up?” Jiwoo sniffled and plopped down next to Jungeun. She wrapped her arms around her and burst into tears into her shoulder.

“Hey, hey… it’s okay,” Jungeun said softly, “I’m here.”

“Haseul…” Jiwoo mumbled, “I like her so much.”

Jungeun’s heart ached for her best friend, but she didn’t say anything.

“She and Vivi are falling apart so fast, and all I can do is watch,” Jiwoo continued, “I refuse to be selfish and hurt Vivi just because I want to be with Haseul. It just… it just hurts.”

Jungeun rubbed her back as Jiwoo sobbed into her shoulder. She didn’t say anything; she just did her best to comfort her best friend as much as possible. The back rubs seemed to help though because soon the girl’s cries had subsided. Realizing the girl had fallen asleep, Jungeun sighed and scooped the girl up into her arms. She carried her upstairs into their dormitory and placed her on her bed. Jungeun went back downstairs to get her letters because she definitely wouldn’t want them falling into the wrong hands.

As she returned to the dormitory and looked at Jiwoo sadly, she wished she could do something. Maybe if she hadn’t rejected Haseul all those years ago, they’d still be together, and she’d break up with Haseul so Jiwoo could be with her. No, that was awfully cruel. Jungeun flopped down on her bed and sighed. Love was stupid.

* * *

_Dear Jinsol,_

_OWLs are the worst, aren’t they? I just finished my Transfiguration practical exam. I feel like screaming. We’re all going insane over here. I know I need to study, but I can hardly stay awake to keep studying. I don’t think I’m allowed to describe what’s on the exams because it could be considered cheating, but I hope your exams are going well. Better than mine, hopefully._

_I know I need to get into NEWT levels for most of my classes to become an Auror, and my professors say it’s possible, but I know I have immense pressure to do well in all of those classes though. I bet it’s easier for you as a prospective Magizoologist, but we’ll totally be quite the dynamic duo in the future! An Auror and a Magizoologist making millions of galleons and living together in a spacious mansion. Doesn’t that sound nice?_

_Heejin tells me you’ve been sad lately, so I sent you some chocolates. I’m sorry again about not being available this summer. My mother is needed at the MACUSA for Ministry matters, and she won’t let me stay home alone. After you’ve graduated, you’ll have so much more freedom to see me. Wow, you’re going to be a seventh year next year! Isn’t it crazy how time has flown? We’ve known each other for four years!_

_Stay healthy. Drink lots of water. I’m thinking of you always. I miss you, and I love you, Jinsol._

_Love,_

_Jungeun ♡_

“C’mon, Jungeun,” Jiwoo whined, yanking Jungeun’s hair, “stop writing to your girlfriend, and let’s _go!”_

Jungeun’s cheeks flushed, and she cleared her throat. “Jinsol isn’t my girlfriend. Stop…”

“You really need to figure that out then. I mean look at Chaewon and Hyejoo! They’ve defined their relationship more than you have.” Jiwoo pointed across the courtyard to Hyejoo and Chaewon who were holding hands and beaming widely at each other. “Well, I guess it could be worse. Vivi and Haseul called it quits.”

“What!?”

“Yeah,” Jiwoo nodded, “it was getting too difficult for them, and Vivi’s graduating, so they said it was for the best.”

Jungeun pursed her lips in thought, eyebrow raising suddenly. “So, what about you and Haseul, then?”

Jiwoo shrugged and sighed. “That’s a problem for next year. I’m not going to swoop in and use my Jiwoo charm on her just yet.”

“I await this interaction with bated breath.”

“Lip.”

“Don’t call me Lip, I’m so sick of people chanting that shit during Quidditch games.”

“Admit it. Secretly, you _love_ being called Lip.”

Jungeun smirked and rolled her eyes. “Can’t prove it, Jiwooming.”

“It boosts your ego soooo much!”

“I can’t stand you.”

“You looove me.”

For the two young witches, plagued with an awful knack for a bad love life, they found comfort in one thing: they would always have each other.

* * *

**YEAR SIX:**

“Mom, I don’t wanna open it.”

“Honey, please open it.”

“Why do I have two letters?”

“One is your school supplies, and one must be your exam results. Please? I bet it’s not as bad as you think it is.”

Jungeun sighed loudly and opened the first letter. “Here goes nothing.”

**OWL EXAMINATION RESULTS FOR KIM JUNGEUN:**

**Ancient Runes:** O

 **Astronomy:** A

 **Charms:** O

 **Care of Magical Creatures:** O

 **DADA:** O

 **Herbology:** E

 **History of Magic:** O

 **Potions:** O

 **Transfiguration:** O

“E in Herbology!?” Jungeun asked in surprise. “Oh, wait, there was that plant that bit me twice… Yeah, I definitely got points taken off for that. Wait- I passed Astronomy! Yes!” She jumped up and down excitedly. She had done way better than she had expected and was well on her way to becoming an Auror. 

She hugged both of her parents tightly before opening her next letter. She skimmed over it and gasped in surprise as the small red and gold pin nearly fell out of the letter. “I’m a Quidditch Captain. No way!” She grinned and shook her letter. “I can’t believe this! This is going to be the best year at Hogwarts ever!”

“I’m so proud of you, Jungeun!” her mother said. “Except I suppose you could’ve done better in Astronomy and Herbology…”

“Does it matter? She still passed! Way better than I did when I did the OWLs,” her dad chimed in.

“Oh, don’t I know it?”

Jungeun’s cheeks hurt so much from smiling. “I’m going to call Jiwoo and Chaewon right now.”

* * *

“Head Girl,” Haseul sighed softly, “I still can’t believe it.”

This year, their entire friend group could fit into one compartment on the train because Vivi had graduated, and Heejin was going back to Beauxbatons for the fall semester. Jungeun got to see Heejin over the summer for a bit before Jungeun went to the United States with her mother. She wrote to Jinsol too, but Jinsol didn’t seem as sad about not seeing Jungeun over the summer anymore. Good, she felt awfully guilty about making her upset.

“I can’t believe it either,” Yeojin grumbled, “I should’ve been a prefect!”

“You!? Prefect?” Yerim burst out laughing in disbelief. She snorted and quickly covered her mouth before continuing. “I love you, Yeo, I do, but you break more rules than any other person at this school.”

“Of course, the newly made Hufflepuff prefect says that,” Hyejoo said sarcastically, hands resting on Chaewon’s hips, who was sitting in Hyejoo’s lap.

Chaewon rolled her eyes. “Yerim causes the least trouble of all the Hufflepuff girls in her year. That’s probably why.”

Yeojin burst out laughing, leaning back against the seat. “Blondie’s right, even though I hate to look at her because she and Hyejoo are being disgustingly cute right now.”

Haseul nodded, draping an arm around Jiwoo. She gave Hyejoo a side-eyed glance and pretended to be annoyed. “Ugh, I know, right? You two should just make it official already.”

Jungeun noticed Hyejoo’s face contort in frustration. “I-”

“We’re not a couple… yet,” Chaewon answered. “It’s complicated.”

 _But you go on dates to the tea shop together? Make it make sense,_ Jungeun thought, but she stayed silent and nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. “Cool.”

“Anyone else excited for this year?” Jiwoo asked, changing the subject. “We’re finally getting to our last years at school!”

“No more being pushed around for our size,” Yeojin said triumphantly, but everyone knew that was a lie. Yeojin was constantly made fun of by her friends for how small she was. “Hey, maybe, I’m finally old enough for Yves.”

“Back off,” Jungeun growled, “that’s _my_ celebrity crush.”

Yeojin rolled her eyes. “You can’t just claim a celebrity crush. She doesn’t even know you.”

“She looked at me and winked at me once!”

“And that’s the extent of your interactions with her. Ever. You’d be better off trying to be with Jinsol.”

The mention of the blonde’s name made Jungeun’s ears turn bright pink.

“But that’s already a challenge because of the distance and your incompetence…”

“Yeojin, enough,” Jiwoo scolded, looking across at Jungeun sympathetically. “You okay, Jungie?”

Jungeun nodded slowly. This was so embarrassing because she knew Yeojin was right. No need for her to call her out in front of all her friends though. She had a chance with Jinsol and screwed it up. Yves was some sort of fantasy that would only happen in her dreams. Her love life was completely and totally a disaster, and while this was something she didn’t care about years ago, now she was determined to fix it. If that was even possible, of course.

* * *

“Welcome back to another exciting year at Hogwarts!” Professor Taemin spoke loudly in front of the entire school. “This year, unlike many other years, is very special. Well, that’s not to say that all your other years are special because I’m sure they are! But I bet they’re not _this_ special. Heh. Trust me! I would know. If I were a student right now, I would be screaming in excitement.”

“What’s he on about?” Yeojin whisper-yelled from across the Gryffindor table. Jungeun just shrugged. The headmaster always had interesting start-of-the-term speeches.

“Anyways, back to my original point… Ah, yes! The Ministry of Magic informed us that they would like to _once again_ revive the Triwizard Tournament! After the last fiascos, I think they all said: ‘I’m sure we’ll get it right this time, eh?’ Yeah? The Ministry has assured us that they will do everything in their power to make sure no students die. There will be stronger regulations on it this time. I swear my collection of Muggle magazines on it!”

Jiwoo let out a soft gasp. “We’re holding a possibly fatal tournament? What the hell is wrong with this school?”

Jungeun chuckled dryly. “You just realized _now_ that Hogwarts is under very poor management?”

“You would think they would learn from their mistakes...”

“WHAT ABOUT QUIDDITCH!?” Yeojin cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted. 

A bunch of other students shouted, “Yeah!” in agreement, including Jungeun. The last Triwizard Tournament, Quidditch was canceled, and Jungeun would hate for it to be canceled again, especially since she was Gryffindor’s captain.

Professor Taemin’s eyebrow quirked up. “Unlike previous tournaments, we will continue Quidditch this year. This is for our guests to feel more welcome at Hogwarts as they will also be studying here for the year, and they are free to join house teams if they wish.”

The Great Hall erupted in cheers of celebration. Yeojin and Jungeun high-fived each other. 

“Ahaha, well, that’s all I’m going to say about the tournament. Our friends from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and Durmstrang Institute will be arriving on October 30th, when we will reveal the rest of the details of the tournament then.”

“Wait! Beauxbatons and Durmstrang!?” Jiwoo repeated in shock. “That means… Heejin is coming back!” A bright smile broke out onto her lips as she hugged Jungeun tightly. “And Jinsol! Jinsol will be coming too!”

“And Yves. No way would she pass up being a champion in this kind of competition. Yves is probably coming to Hogwarts too,” Yeojin said dreamily. “I hope she falls in love with me.”

Jungeun couldn’t quite believe her ears. Heejin was ending her study abroad trip early. Jinsol was coming back to Hogwarts. Yves would be here _in the flesh_ and not above her on some broom.

Maybe this was the universe hearing her pleas and giving her a second chance, or maybe this was all just a crazy coincidence. Either way, Jungeun wasn’t going to make any mistakes again when it came to Jinsol or even Yves… but why would a Quidditch celebrity be interested in her?

October 30th couldn’t come sooner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey all! thanks for reading the prologue. regular chapters won't be THIS long bc this is just backstory and buildup. if you have any questions or comments feel free to comment here or ask me stuff in my curious cat.
> 
> twitter:  
> @hyeslipse  
> curious cat:  
> curiouscat.me/hyeslipse
> 
> translations:  
> chère/ma chère/ma très chère - dear/my dear/my dearest  
> chaleureusement - warmly  
> bien amicalement - sincerely; in friendship  
> À bientôt - see you soon  
> affectueusement - fondly  
> je t'aime - i love you


	2. ONE: ARRIVAL

“Is it October 30th yet?”

“No, Jungeun,” her friends said in unison.

Jungeun let out an annoyed whine, bringing her goblet of orange juice to her lips. She knew she was being annoying by asking the same question every single morning to her no-doubt irritated friends, but her excitement for the upcoming tournament couldn’t be contained. It was on the minds of everyone in her friend group. Whether it be anticipation over the return of their friends or the competition itself, they talked about the tournament at least once a day.

“Quidditch trials are today, Lip,” Yeojin said in a sing-song voice, leaning over the table to give Jungeun a shit-eating grin. “Heejin still hasn’t gotten back to you, so does that mean I get to play Seeker?”

Jungeun rolled her eyes. “Can you confidently say you can beat Yves in a Quidditch match?”

“That’s not fair! She has a Firebolt Supreme, the fastest broom of our generation! Nobody can beat her-”

“My point exactly. There’s a chance she’ll play on a house Quidditch team. If she doesn’t try out for Gryffindor, we’ll have to be ready,” she explained. “I am way more confident in Heejin’s snitch catching skills than yours.”

The fifth year let out a dejected huff and plopped back down in her seat.

“Damn, Jungeun, you didn’t have to be so harsh,” Hyejoo remarked, holding up another strawberry to Chaewon, who had her head on the Slytherin’s shoulder, and feeding it to her. “Oh, to see the look on your face when Yves becomes Slytherin’s new seeker.”

Yeojin whipped her wand out and snarled, “Son Hyejoo, get your vile, cunning hands away from our Yves!”

Haseul groaned boredly. “Do you always have to make it about Quidditch? I mean every single conversation we have it’s Quidditch or the tournament. Can’t we talk about something else?” The Head Girl laughed softly and nudged Jiwoo, who was sitting next to her, causing the redhead to flush a deeper shade than her hair. “It’s a little disheartening if Yerim, Chaewon, Jiwoo, and I can’t even join in the conversation. Isn’t that right- Oh, Jiwoo! Why is your face so red? Are you sick?”

Jiwoo’s eyes widened and shook her head violently. “No! I’m not. I just- It’s hot in here.”

Jungeun snorted loudly and covered her mouth, averting Jiwoo’s angry glare. The girl had it bad for Haseul, and it had only gotten worse since Haseul became single. She  _ really  _ shouldn’t tease Jiwoo, but the temptation was too overwhelming. She bowed her head and took another sip of her orange juice.

“Guys!” Yerim shouted over the familiar mass-flapping of wings. “Owls! Our letters are here! Please let it be my copy of  _ Witch Weekly!” _

At the mention of  _ Witch Weekly,  _ Chaewon perked up in excitement, gently scooting over to sit closer to Yerim as an owl dropped the magazine in front of her. Hyejoo had a saddened expression as she watched Chaewon and Yerim squeal excitedly over the contents of the magazine.

“Look! It’s Pierre!” Haseul said excitedly, pointing at the snowy owl heading towards their table. By now, Jungeun’s friends were well acquainted with Jinsol’s owl as he was quite the character. They looked forward to Pierre’s arrival more than they did news from Jinsol. Pierre dropped two letters in front of Jungeun and then landed next to Haseul, clearly expecting a treat. Haseul had become the owl’s favorite because she always fed him whenever he arrived.

“Two letters?” Jungeun asked before recognizing the handwriting on one of them was not Jinsol’s. “Oh, Heejin wrote back!” she concluded.

Jiwoo pouted and whined in response. “Heejin writes back to you but not me? How rude!”

“Have you written her a letter recently?”

“Well… no.”

Jungeun just chuckled and rolled her eyes. She opened Heejin’s letter first. Knowing that reading Jinsol’s letter would make her very flustered, she wanted to prolong her friends’ teasing as much as possible.

_ Jungeun, _

_ Got your letter as you can see! I’m a little pissed that my time abroad will be cut short because of the tournament, but it’s all good here! Oh, I suppose that answers your question. Yes, I will be returning to Hogwarts with the Beauxbatons delegation on October 30th. Madame Bae said I was a unique circumstance, and it would be much more complicated to get me back after Christmas with the tournament going on. I guess that’s a nicer way of saying that she doesn’t think I’m elite enough to be a potential champion, but she doesn’t want to leave me behind. _

_ I’m sure Jinsol will tell you more about it in her letter. So, don’t worry about finding a new Seeker! I’ve been practicing every day, so I’ll be ready to take on Slytherin the weekend after I return. It’s hard to practice when the entire school is so obsessed with preparing the delegation for the tournament. _

_ I can’t wait to see you guys again!  _

_ Heejin _

“Just as I suspected,” Jungeun chuckled, “sorry, Yeojin, looks like Heejin will be back for Quidditch.”

“DAMN IT!”

Truthfully, the thought of Yeojin as a Seeker was terrifying, and something she never would want to be permanent after Yeojin had to fill in last year.

Jungeun’s heart began beating rapidly as she opened Jinsol’s letter, dying to know what was inside the letter. And thankfully, they wouldn’t have to communicate like this for very long.

_ MA CHÉRIE JUNGEUN!!! ♡♡♡ _

_ I am shaking so much as I’m writing this to you. I can’t believe it! I’m coming back to Hogwarts! Never would I ever think the Triwizard Tournament would come back in my lifetime, but yet it does… It must be a sign. A second chance for us, maybe? The whole school, unfortunately, won’t be able to come because of the new regulations. They’re even tighter than last time. I can’t say what they are now because it’s confidential information, but know that only twelve Beauxbatons students (not including Heejin) will be arriving in October.  _

_ I’m one of them!! Madame Bae chose the best of the best of us. All of us are top students in each of the twelve Ordinary Wizarding Level subjects. Since I received the highest score for Care of Magical Creatures, I can only assume that was why I was selected, but some of my classmates are far more skilled than me. It’s a little intimidating.  _

_ However, I’m far more excited to see you than to possibly compete in this tournament. Is that strange for me to say? A full year together instead of a few months… I can’t think of a better way to spend my seventh year.  _

_ I’m counting down the days until I can see you. Don’t be a stranger, please? I know we’ll see each other soon, but I still love hearing from you. As always, Je t’aime. _

_ À bientôt (wow it feels so surreal writing that), _

_ Jinsol ♡ _

“Oooh, did you get a love letter?” Jiwoo asked teasingly, peering over Jungeun’s shoulder.

Jungeun flinched and immediately folded the letter to hide it from Jiwoo’s gaze. “Stop it! No, I didn’t!” she hissed, playfully shoving Jiwoo.

“But it’s from Jinsol!” Jiwoo replied, sticking her face right in Jungeun’s with a big grin and wide eyes.

She let out a noise of disgust, pushing her best friend off of her. “She’s just excited to come back to Hogwarts!”

“To see you, I bet!” Haseul chimed in with a wide smirk. She had just finished feeding Pierre a glazed donut and was stroking his head gently. “Heejin said so herself Beauxbatons is so much more impressive than Hogwarts. But what does Hogwarts have that Beauxbatons doesn’t? Kim Jungeun.”

Jiwoo and her other friends burst out laughing while Jungeun’s ears turned red. Jungeun placed the folded letter in her book bag and scowled. “I liked you better when you had a hopeless crush on me, Haseul.”

“Don’t you  _ dare  _ bring that up!” Haseul shouted, shaking her finger threateningly.

Jungeun blew her a kiss and grinned. “Nope, sorry, nearly three years later, and I still find it hilarious.” She stood up and swung her book bag over her shoulder. “Right. Chae, Jiwoo, we have Herbology. We’ll be late if we don’t leave now.”

“Ah, I hate Herbology,” Chaewon sighed sadly.

One of the great things about their sixth year was that all classes were combined and not separated by house since only students who achieved certain marks on their OWL exams could take them. Chaewon, Jungeun, and Jiwoo all did well enough on their exams to take core classes again. Jiwoo wasn’t in their Transfiguration class, however, she only managed to get an ‘Acceptable’ grade on the OWL. With their now shared classes, Jungeun and Jiwoo saw Chaewon all the time. And with Heejin coming back in October, the four of them would be totally reunited.

“Agh, looks like we have Potions, Hyejoo,” Yeojin groaned. “Tell your stupid Slytherin friends to stop trying to curse me. I can’t help it that I’m prettier than them.”

“I don’t think that’s why they’re cursing you,” Hyejoo said with a soft chuckle.

“Haters, all of them!” Yerim huffed in agreement. “Don’t worry, Yeo. When you become the next Minister of Magic, you’ll show them.”

Yeojin flipped her hair and posed. “I love my fans.”

“On that note, I suppose I should go to the library and study for my NEWTs,” Haseul sighed in annoyance. “They don’t call them Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests for a reason.” She smiled widely and waved to her friends. “See you all at lunch?”

“Of course, Seulie! I’ll miss you!” Jiwoo said while beaming. Jungeun wanted to throw up in her mouth.

Haseul giggled softly. “Aw, Jiwoo, I’ll miss you too.”

The group split off and went their separate ways to go to class. As Jungeun and Jiwoo made their way across the grounds to the greenhouses, she leaned over and whispered in Jiwoo’s ear, “you have it so bad for Haseul.”

Jiwoo laughed and rolled her eyes. “That may be true, but once Jinsol arrives, you’ll be eating your own words.”

Jungeun huffed, hating how Jiwoo was absolutely right.

* * *

“Is it October 30th yet?”

“No, Jungeun,” her friends said in unison.

Jungeun, Chaewon, and Jiwoo had just finished their afternoon Care of Magical Creatures lesson. Faces buried in their scarves, they trudged up the hill to return to the castle. Despite the excitement of the tournament looming, all of them were swamped with homework. NEWT level classes had not taken kindly to them. Free periods thought to be spent hanging out with friends instead were used to finish hours of homework. And of course, Quidditch practice, which was difficult to have without Heejin, took up afternoons and early mornings easily.

“Aren’t you getting tired of asking the same questions?” Chaewon asked seriously.

“Yes, just as I’m getting tired of waiting for the day to come,” Jungeun retorted. “I’m not the only one over-excited. Jinsol is too, and she’s supposed to be preparing for the tournament.”

Jiwoo let out an excited squeal as the trio crossed the wooden bridge back to the castle. “Oh, right! What happens if Jinsol gets chosen as a champion? Will you betray your own school just to support your crush?” she asked teasingly.

Jungeun couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “It’s no different than Chaewon supporting Hyejoo during Quidditch matches, is it?”

The blonde choked on her breath and turned bright pink. “S-Shut up, Jungeun, we’re not-” Chaewon huffed and shook her head. “Can we not talk about Hyejoo?”

“Is everything okay?” Jiwoo frowned, placing a hand on the Ravenclaw’s shoulder.

Chaewon bit her lip and shrugged. “Yeah, everything’s fine… I’m just-” She paused, clearly trying to pick her words wisely. Jungeun looked over at her friend with worried concern. “What Hyejoo and I have is different from you and Jinsol,” she said slowly. “At least…” Chaewon exhaled softly. “At least Jinsol’s family likes you.”

Jiwoo and Jungeun exchanged concerned glances, but neither of them seemed willing to question Chaewon any further. Chaewon was always quite secretive when she talked about herself or her relationship with Hyejoo. While Jiwoo always wanted to push, Jungeun thought it would be best to let Chaewon open up to them. Besides, of the three of them, Chaewon was closest to Heejin, and the blonde definitely felt the loss of her best friend when she went abroad.

“We don’t have to talk about it,” Jungeun said assuringly. Chaewon’s features immediately relaxed in relief. “But just know that Jiwoo and I are here for you whenever you need us. No matter what.”

“We love you, Chaewonnie!” Jiwoo chirped in agreement and pulled the girl into a hug. 

Chaewon stiffened at first before returning the hug, patting Jiwoo on the head. “Thanks, both of you.”

Entering the castle, Jungeun noticed something strange. A large crowd of people surrounded a notice that had been pinned on the wall. What could it possibly be for? Jungeun turned to her friends and motioned for them to get a closer look.

“Hey! I’m too short for this. Hyejoo, put me on your shoulders!”

“Can’t you say please?”

Jungeun chuckled under her breath. “When are Hyejoo and Yeojin not bickering?”

She noticed a flash of familiar brown hair in the crowd and slipped over to tap Yerim’s shoulder. “Hey, Yerim,” Jungeun hissed, “what’s going on?”

“Announcement of the arrival of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons next week at six,” Yerim replied, pointing to the notice board. “Classes are being cut off early to prepare for their arrival. We’re supposed to greet them in front of the castle.”

“Ah,” Jungeun said, breaking out into a cheerful grin. All her waiting would soon pay off. “Can you see which classes are cut off for the sixth years?”

Yerim nodded. “Of course, Lip, I got you.” Jungeun couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the nickname. People calling her ‘Lip’ outside of the Quidditch pitch and conversations relating to Quidditch confused. “It looks like… uh… Oh! Potions.”

“That’s a relief. I heard we were supposed to brew something really complicated,” Jungeun sighed and clapped Yerim on the back. “Thanks much, Yerim.”

“Anytime!”

Jungeun weaved her way back out of the crowd and to her two friends, who gave her curious looks. “Classes are being cut short on Friday in preparation for Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. Hopefully, Potions won’t be so bad. We won’t have to brew that extremely difficult potion Professor Kang was talking about.”

Jiwoo groaned and shook her head. “No, Jungeun! I think… I think we’ll still have to do it in less time. This is an advanced class! She won’t give us any breaks.”

“Fuck.”

Chaewon giggled, clearly amused by Jungeun’s misfortune. “If anyone will suffer, it’ll be me. You  _ know  _ how bad I am at Potions. Remember in our first year when I exploded the cauldron six times?” She laughed louder at the memory. “I’m surprised I managed to move on to NEWT level Potions.”

“Because you’re smart, and you need to give yourself more credit, Chae,” Jiwoo said with a pointed look.

Chaewon rolled her eyes. “If you say so…”

“Don’t try telling Jiwoo she’s wrong,” Jungeun said. “It never works.”

* * *

“It’s finally October 30th,” Jungeun said dreamily. Jiwoo smacked her head with her textbook, causing her to yell in pain and clutch her head. “Ow! Jiwoo, what the hell?”

“I’m so sick of hearing the words ‘October 30th’ come out of your mouth!” Jiwoo protested. “It’s like listening to a broken record.” Jungeun blinked slowly, looking at Jiwoo in apparent confusion. Although Jungeun was far from confused, she just loved teasing her Muggle-born best friend and tricking her into thinking she didn’t know any Muggle stuff. The redhead huffed in disbelief. “No, don’t pull that with me, Kim Jungeun. I know that look. I know you know what a record is. You think I’m so gullible because I’m cute!”

Jungeun rubbed her head and shrugged. “Drats, I nearly had you this time.” She glanced down at her textbook to see what was the next ingredient for the potion they were making. This Potions class felt like it was happening at an agonizingly slow pace because all Jungeun wanted to do was run straight to the Great Hall in anticipation for the arrival of her dear Jinsol and the slim chance she could see Yves up close again. And Heejin! Of course, Heejin too!

“I don’t want to touch my cauldron. I’m so scared,” Chaewon whimpered. “I can tell Professor Kang is glaring at me. She’s so nice but not when she’s mad.” She shuddered and glanced in Professor Kang’s direction, who was indeed looking right at Chaewon. “Please hide me.”

“Chae,” Jiwoo whined, “you don’t know if you’ll do well unless you actually do it.”

“Failure is always an option. You learn the most from your failures.”

And just a bit later after that conversation, it was finally time for them to go. Unfortunately, Professor Kang was not paying attention to the time and shrieked when she announced that they needed to leave. Jungeun, Jiwoo, and Chaewon wasted no time packing their books and running out of the dungeons.

They were running across the bridge towards the Entrance Courtyard when they noticed a familiar silhouette of a carriage drawn by winged horses descending from the sky.

“Beauxbatons!” Jiwoo shouted in awe, pointing to the carriage high in the sky.

Jungeun cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted, “HI JINSOL!” as the carriage flew towards the castle. She expected no response as there was no way that anyone could hear them, but the sentiment was still there. 

She blew a kiss in the direction of the carriage before Chaewon grabbed her wrist and dragged her away. “Enough of that. You’re being weird.”

“Our headmaster said we had to be on our best behavior, and we are  _ not  _ doing that,” Jiwoo remarked.

Jungeun frowned dejectedly. “Just being friendly…”

Finally arriving in the Entrance Hall, they joined their friends who had all squeezed into the front of the crowd. The students were standing in two crowds outside of the Great Hall doors, standing to the side so their guests could walk into the Great Hall with ease. The professors said that the Beauxbatons delegation would be arriving at any moment, and they had to be prepared.

The carriage they had seen earlier had finally made its descent into the courtyard. Professor Taemin, eager to greet the students, swiftly made his way to the carriage. The door swung open as he approached and a short, black-haired woman with probably the best eyebrows Jungeun had ever seen stepped out.

“Ah! Madame Bae! I hope your journey here had no complications?” Professor Taemin greeted, holding his arm out for her to take.

Madame Bae snorted and shook her head, ignoring his arm. “Too long,” she said shortly.  _ “Mes étudiants, allons-y.” _

Just as Jinsol had said in her letter, twelve students had come. Most of them were girls, but there were a few boys. Jungeun squinted, trying her best to try and find Jinsol and Heejin.

As the Beauxbatons delegation came closer, Jungeun’s heart stopped when she laid eyes on the blonde. Jinsol was still as beautiful as ever; although, Jungeun had never seen her in her Beauxbatons uniform. She had to admit that of all the people in the Beauxbatons delegation, Jinsol pulled off the fine blue silk dress, cape, and hat better than the other students. Next to her, she noticed Heejin in the exact same uniform with an embarrassed expression. Poor girl must have felt awkward returning to Hogwarts wearing another school’s uniform. 

Heejin waved to Jungeun and their friends, mouthing something like, “I’ll stop by later” before continuing on with the rest of the group.

Finally, Jinsol’s eyes found Jungeun’s, and she squealed in pure excitement, breaking out of the line to engulf Jungeun in a tight hug. Jungeun hugged her back, relaxing into the girl’s arms that felt a lot more like home. Nothing could ever make her feel more complete than this… Besides Yves speaking to her, but that's another story. “Oh, Jungeun, gosh…” Jinsol breathed out. She pulled away to kiss both of Jungeun’s cheeks in greeting. “I’m so happy to see you. You have no idea how much I’ve-”

“Jinsol, you can talk to your friend later,” Madame Bae said sternly from behind her. “We have to keep moving.”

“But, Irene, please, I haven’t seen her in forever,” Jinsol whined like a child.

“What did I say about you calling me by my first name? I am your headmistress, not your friend.”

“We’re getting there!”

Jungeun laughed and grabbed Jinsol’s hands, giving them a soft squeeze. “We’ll catch up later, Sol. I promise. We’ll have plenty of time to.”

Jinsol nodded, finally acknowledging Jungeun’s other friends. “Sorry, it’s nice seeing you guys too, but-”

“Yeah, yeah, Jungeun’s your priority, we know that,” Haseul said teasingly as Jinsol flushed in embarrassment.

“Look! The lake!” Jiwoo gasped, grabbing onto Haseul’s arm as she pointed at the window. “Something’s coming out of it.”

Jinsol whipped her head around to see what was happening. “Wh-”

“Let’s  _ go,  _ Jinsol!” Madame Bae’s voice rang out. 

The blonde pouted, flashing Jungeun one last smile before following her headmistress into the Great Hall. Jungeun was sad to see Jinsol go, but her attention had been stolen by something else. Emerging from the lake was a giant sailing ship, reminiscent of a ghost pirate ship. It looked haunting and terrifying as the ship anchored close to the boathouse. She watched closely as the ship dropped a rowboat, and the delegation rowed towards the shore.

“Ah, Miss Sunmi! Welcome to Hogwarts,” Professor Taemin greeted as the woman in a fur coat entered the courtyard.

Miss Sunmi smiled and bowed respectfully. “Taemin.”

Behind her were a delegation of mostly boys and a few girls in blood-red robes and fur capes and caps. Jungeun gasped when she could clearly recognize one face in the delegation. Yves. Her speculations were correct. The famous Quidditch player had come to Hogwarts.

“It’s Yves,” Jungeun breathed out. “She’s here!”

Murmurs echoed through the hallway as the delegation approached. Some girls broke free from the crowd and rushed towards Yves to try and get her autograph. Yeojin was one of them, but the professors were quick to react, threatening detention if they came near Yves. Yeojin scowled and stormed back to her friends.

Yves looked calm and collected, hair much longer than Jungeun remembered. Her eyes scanned the crowd calculatingly before her gaze rested on Jungeun, eyebrow raising slightly and a hint of a smile forming on her lips. Jungeun bit her lip and quickly averted her eyes. Yves just looked at her. There was no way Yves recognized her or even knew who she was. She was just a face in the crowd, right? She shouldn’t get her hopes up. She barely glanced up, noticing Yves had already entered the Great Hall.

“You all saw that, right?” Jungeun asked quietly.

“Yes,” Chaewon snickered, “we saw the gay panic from miles away.”

Jungeun rolled her eyes. “No, I mean, Yves.”

“Yeah,” Jiwoo sighed dreamily, “she’s prettier in person.”

“Not you too!” Haseul huffed. “Seriously, I don’t understand the hype over her! Where is Jinsol when I need her? She would agree with me.”

“She’s right in the next room,” Jungeun pointed out, smiling hard at her own statement.

Jinsol was back, and Yves was here too. This year was already starting out on a good note.

* * *

The fangirls swarmed Yves like vultures staking their claim on her. Jungeun scowled as she watched yet another girl ask Yves to sign a piece of parchment with lipstick. It wasn’t that Jungeun was jealous, she was just annoyed that this kind of behavior would probably become a new normal. There was no way Jungeun could approach Yves with a group of girls vying for her attention constantly. Nor would Jungeun be caught dead approaching the Slytherin table. 

She didn’t want to hide her disappointment when Beauxbatons and Durmstrang chose to sit at the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables respectively. She figured it had something to do with Jinsol being a Ravenclaw when she was a student, and Durmstrang had an affinity for the Dark Arts. Still, Jungeun couldn’t complain too much with a large feast in front of her to enjoy.

Yeojin’s plate was filled with meat, and just like Jungeun, she kept looking over at the Slytherin table to see what Yves was up to. “I’m gonna kill Hyejoo. She’s so lucky she gets to sit with Yves,” she complained.

“I know,” Jungeun agreed, “but I think Hyejoo might be the only Slytherin not interested in her.” She pointed to their friend who was sitting away from Yves and the group of girls and Slytherins who had surrounded her. Hyejoo wasn’t one to enjoy crowds anyway.

“And what’s with the two chairs at the head table?” Jiwoo questioned, gesturing to the long table where the professors were sitting. “Who else is coming?”

“People from the Ministry probably. They have to make sure things go smoothly,” Jungeun answered.

“Ah.”

“Hey, girls,” Heejin said, announcing her presence. Jungeun looked up and turned around to see her best friend in all her Beauxbatons glory. “Is there room for one more?”

Yeojin chuckled and rolled her eyes. “You’re not a Gryffindor. You don’t belong here.”

“Hey!” Heejin protested. “Don’t be rude.” She leaned forward slightly, placing her hands on Jiwoo and Jungeun’s shoulders to whisper in their ears. “Which reminds me… can you hook me up with the Gryffindor password?”

Jiwoo laughed. “Funny joke! I’m a prefect. I can’t give that out for free.” She gave Heejin a sympathetic smile. 

Jungeun sighed when Heejin gave her a pleading look and shook her head. “Sorry, but the password changes every week, so I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Hogwarts is supposed to be home, but I’m not even allowed in my own common room.”

“Because technically you’re a Beauxbatons student right now!” Yeojin exclaimed.

Heejin narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. “Why, you’re all a bunch of fake friends. I take back every nice thing I’ve ever said about you,” she said darkly, but Jungeun knew Heejin was just teasing them. Playful banter was Heejin’s second language.

“Jeon Heejin!” An unfamiliar voice shouted from the Slytherin table. 

Jungeun furrowed her brows and turned around to find a Durmstrang girl with red hair beaming widely at Heejin. Who the hell was this girl?

“Kim Hyunjin!?” Heejin gasped, a big grin breaking out on her lips. “Um, I’ll see you guys later. I need to go.” Before Jungeun could even protest, Heejin scurried off to the Slytherin table to give the redhead a tight hug.

Her brows furrowed as she turned back to Yeojin and Jiwoo. “Who’s Hyunjin? That name sounds familiar…” she paused in thought, trying to remember where she had heard the name from.

“Heejin’s penpal from Durmstrang!” Jiwoo answered. “I didn’t think Hyunjin would come considering she’s in our year.”

“Why do you say that?” Yeojin asked.

“Well, if those schools are sending their best students, wouldn’t they send seventh years?”

Jungeun shrugged and turned to look at Professor Taemin, who had tapped the podium to call for everyone’s attention. The chatter in the Great Hall died down as the students gave their full attention to the headmaster.

“Thank you. First of all, I would once again like to welcome Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and Durmstrang Institute to Hogwarts! We hope you enjoy your stay here. I’d also like to welcome two other people who will help the three heads of the schools in judging the competition. From the Department of Magical Games and Sports, Kim Seokjin, and from the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Viian Wong.”

At the mention of her friend, Jungeun clapped and cheered loudly. She had heard Vivi got a job at the Ministry of Magic, but who knew she would do something as important as judging the Triwizard Tournament? Her older friend stood up and waved, a bright smile plastered on her lips as she bowed respectfully. She was glad to see her again, but then she remembered that there was one person most likely deterred by Vivi’s return.

She turned to look over at Jiwoo, who looked to be smiling so hard that it hurt her face. “Are you okay, Wooming?” she whispered.

Jiwoo nodded fervently. “Yes. Perfectly fine. Not like this complicates things or anything.”

Jungeun looked over at the Hufflepuff table to see if she could gauge Haseul’s reaction, but she couldn’t seem to find the girl before Professor Taemin started speaking again.

“Now, the Triwizard Tournament is a dangerous and exciting tournament. Not at all meant for the faint-hearted! Each school will have one student chosen as champion who will compete against each other in three very difficult and dangerous tasks for eternal glory and the Triwizard Cup.” He gestured to the bright blue cup shining on a pedestal next to him. “But know this, if you are chosen as champion, you stand alone, and you are bound to this role by a magical contract. If you are chosen, you  _ must  _ compete. Seriously.”

He took a step forward and motioned for Vivi to help him uncover a large object that Jungeun hadn’t even noticed was there. The cloth was pulled off to reveal a large goblet dazzling with blue and white flames. Jungeun couldn’t help but gasp in awe.

“How will the champions be chosen? By the fairest judge of them all, the Goblet of Fire. Those who wish to be champions have twenty-four hours to put their name in the Goblet of Fire. We will choose the three champions at the Halloween Feast.”

Yeojin grinned at Jungeun and Jiwoo. “I’m going to be the Hogwarts champion,” she whispered. “Just you wait.”

“However, for this tournament, I mentioned at the beginning of the year we have safety regulations. In order to compete, you must be a seventh year  _ and  _ be at least seventeen years old.”

“OH COME ON!” Yeojin screamed. “BOOOO!”

A bunch of the younger students expressed their outrage too with loud booing and hissing. Jungeun looked over in the direction of the Slytherin table to where Hyunjin was. If she wasn’t allowed to compete, why was she here? Jungeun assumed Beauxbatons and Durmstrang knew about these rules and took that into account while selecting their delegation. There had to be some other reason.

“HEY! SHUT UP!” Professor Taemin shouted back. The whole school went silent, shocked by the headmaster’s outburst. Jungeun had to cover her mouth to stop herself from bursting out laughing. “Well… I didn’t mean to say it like that,” he chuckled awkwardly, “but it worked?”

Madame Bae loudly cleared her throat in annoyance.

The headmaster pulled his wand out and drew a magical floating circle around the goblet. An age line to make sure that no one under seventeen crossed the line. But how would it know if the student was a seventh year or not? 

“The goblet has also been charmed with the knowledge and records of all Hogwarts students’ years. I’m not concerned about Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students defying this as Madame Bae and Miss Sunmi have made sure their delegation is qualified for the tournament.”

_ But what about Hyunjin then? _

“Nonsense,” Yeojin muttered, balling her hand up into a fist. “I can fool that dumb age line easily. I’ll even bewitch my records.”

“You’re not actually-” Jiwoo gasped.  _ “Yeojin.” _

Yeojin just smirked and held two fingers up in the air. As if on cue, Jungeun noticed Yerim and Hyejoo get up and leave the Hufflepuff and Slytherin table with Yeojin following them out of the Great Hall.

“What the hell are they up to?” Jungeun whispered to Jiwoo.

Jiwoo shrugged and shook her head. “I don’t know, and I’m scared to find out.”

“One final thing before I dismiss you all for bed, remember that you must be absolutely sure that you want to compete. You cannot change your mind. You must be ready and willing to face any danger and challenge you are presented.”

Jungeun felt goosebumps because of Professor Taemin’s serious tone. She wasn’t even allowed to compete, and she  _ still  _ felt intimidated.

“On that note, off to bed!”

* * *

As Jungeun left the Great Hall, she felt someone grab her arm. She stiffened slightly and turned around to find Jinsol smiling at her. She smiled back and grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the way of the crowd of students trying to get back to their common rooms. They stepped out the Entrance Hall doors into the courtyard when Jungeun suddenly stopped.

“Hey, shouldn’t you be with your classmates?” Jungeun asked with a skeptical look.

Jinsol laughed. “Yes, but they moved the carriage to the grounds. Heejin’s showing them the way there. I said I would catch them later, but I don’t remember the way from here.”

“But why would you separate yourself if you don’t remember how to get back there?” Jungeun laughed, shaking her head in disbelief. “Are you asking me to escort you back?”

Jinsol’s cheeks turned red, and she bit her lip before composing herself. A confident smile returned to her pink lips as she took a step closer to her. “Maybe I am, but maybe I also wanted to spend more time with my  _ favorite  _ Hogwarts student.”

“Oh?” Jungeun tilted her head slightly with a look of amusement. “I thought that was Chaewon?”

“You’re still as dense as ever,” Jinsol hummed, carefully lifting Jungeun’s chin with her fingers. She leaned in ever so slightly, making Jungeun suddenly nervous because of Jinsol’s close proximity. “But so, so cute.”

Jungeun giggled nervously as her face heated up. This conversation definitely was driving her crazy considering all these feelings that she had for Jinsol were slowly starting to consume her again. She hadn’t expected to fall back into familiar patterns with Jinsol so soon. It was almost like when Jinsol came back, they were just continuing where they left off. But again, this could be the Veela charm still affecting her, and Jinsol always was flirty and affectionate with her anyway. Maybe she was reading too much into things.

“Stop that,” Jungeun breathed out. “You’re making my face hurt.”

“No, I think I like you when you’re all- Ow, what the fuck?”

A Durmstrang girl had shoulder-checked Jinsol and knocked her over while passing by. The poor girl was already so clumsy. Jungeun held a hand out to help Jinsol up, but the blonde ignored her, clearly set off by the rude Durmstrang girl.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” Jinsol shouted as she got back up on her feet.

The girl stopped and turned around. One look at the girl’s gorgeous face made Jungeun’s stomach drop.  _ Oh, shit, it’s Yves,  _ Jungeun thought. Weird to see her without her groupies. She must have finally gotten rid of them. 

Yves seemed indifferent to Jinsol’s misfortune. She crossed her arms and shrugged. “Sorry,” she said flatly, “you were in my way.”

“In your way!?” Jinsol spat. “You had so much room to walk around me!”

“But I didn’t want to.”

Jungeun’s eyes widened at how blunt Yves was and how easily it set off Jinsol. She grabbed the blonde’s arm because the girl looked like she was ready to pounce. “You think you’re all that because you’re a famous Quidditch player, huh? You had no reason to be rude!” Jinsol barked.

Yves chuckled dryly and shook her head in disagreement. “I’m not trying to be rude. Sorry. I just didn’t like how close you were getting to the pretty girl you were talking to.”

_ “Excuse me!?” _

Yves ignored her and turned to Jungeun, still processing that she was just referred to as a pretty girl by the Quidditch player. The celebrity narrowed her eyes inquisitively at her. “Quidditch World Cup, two years ago? Were you there?”

“Yes…?” Jungeun replied uncertainly.

“Ah,” Yves replied with a soft smile, “I’m trying to figure out why you seem so familiar.”

Jinsol snorted and rolled her eyes. “Oh, now you sound like a creep and an arrogant asshole. The total package deal!”

“You know, you’re prettier when you keep your mouth shut...” Yves drawled, smirking at Jinsol.

Jinsol snarled in rage and lunged forward, but Jungeun was quick to react, wrapping her small arms around Jinsol’s torso to try and hold her back. “Stop that! You’ll get in trouble! Remember that you’re here to compete, not fight people!” she pleaded.

“Ugh,” Jinsol groaned, sending another glare at Yves, “you’re right.”

Yves waved at them lazily before walking off in the direction of the boathouse. “Goodnight, ladies. I hope I’ll see you again soon.” Although, Jungeun figured that last sentence was directed more at Jungeun than Jinsol.

Jinsol sighed in frustration and ran her hands through her hair. “See what I mean? It’s all an act! Yves is just rude!”

Jungeun frowned sympathetically, unsure how to respond

Jinsol huffed. “Whatever. I hope I can avoid her as much as possible. The way she was talking about you... Ugh! She thinks she can just waltz in here and-” She let out another sigh of frustration and cut herself off. “Never mind. I’m not going to let a stupid celebrity piss me off and hurt my pride.”

“I’m sorry, Sol. She was unnecessarily rude to you,” Jungeun admitted. “Maybe she’s having an off day?”

“I’ll tell you what, if she speaks to me like that ever again, I’ll make sure she regrets it.” Jinsol shook her head. “Ah, whatever, we’ll see if it was just an  _ off day  _ or not.”

Jungeun sighed and shrugged. Maybe Jinsol was right, and Yves wasn’t that great of a person. While she was kind to Jungeun, Yves was quite hostile to Jinsol. Of course, she shouldn’t judge someone based on their first interaction. She held onto the hope that Yves was actually a nice person, and this was all just an act. But after seeing how she treated Jinsol, she definitely was wary of her. She would have to speak to Yves again to get a better idea of what she was like. 

She shook those thoughts of Yves away and escorted Jinsol back to her carriage, not caring if she got in trouble for being out after curfew. They had a long day ahead of them tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> had a lot of fun writing this one! mostly bc i'm excited to finally get things going. things might have seemed slow at first but now that everyone's in the same place, the real fun can start! hope you all liked it! i appreciate any and all comments & questions! next chapter will come soon!
> 
> twitter:  
> @hyeslipse  
> curious cat:  
> curiouscat.me/hyeslipse
> 
> french translations (see last chapter for translations not listed as some are repeated):  
> mes étudiants, allons-y - my students, let's go


	3. TWO: THREE CHAMPIONS

“Good morning, Jungie!”

“Ah!” Jungeun squeaked in surprise as she exited the Gryffindor common room only to find Jinsol waiting for her. Just like she used to do when she was an exchange student, yet another thing that hadn’t changed between them. “Morning, Sol. How did you sleep?”

Jinsol smiled and linked their arms as they descended down the Grand Staircase. “I slept okay. I can’t say sleeping in a carriage is very comfortable. Even if the inside is expanded because of magic, I have to share a room with Heejin. Sometimes, she snores loudly.”

“Tell me about it. I’ve had to sleep in the same room with her for five years,” Jungeun laughed. “She only snores when she’s stressed.” She hummed in thought and tilted her head to the side. “Speaking of which, where is Heejin?”

“She went to breakfast early to meet her friend Hyunjin,” Jinsol informed her. “I have yet to meet her.”

Jungeun nodded. “Same here. I hope she’s nice.”

After climbing down the multitude of stairs, almost being forced to take a different path because of the changing staircases, they finally made their way into the Entrance Hall. Jungeun and Jinsol both pushed open the heavy doors to the Great Hall and entered. Since last night, the Great Hall had changed vastly. The tables had been pushed towards the edge, and the Goblet of Fire stood in the middle of the Great Hall. Students sat at the table and ate their breakfast quietly while others sat at the benches near the goblet and watched students put their names into the Goblet of Fire. One of them, notably, was Haseul.

Haseul stood on her toes as she placed her name into the Goblet of Fire. Jiwoo cheered loudly, bouncing up and down as Haseul stepped away from the goblet.

“Haseul! You entered?” Jungeun called out to her good friend.

Haseul turned her head and waved at Jungeun, arm resting around Jiwoo’s waist. “Yeah! I figured since it’s my last year, I might as well, right? It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity!”

“You’d be the perfect Hogwarts champion,” she agreed.

Jinsol’s eyes lit up, and she let go of Jungeun’s arm. Noticing Jungeun’s disappointed pout, she smiled reassuringly. “I’m just going to go put my name in the Goblet of Fire before I forget, okay? I won’t be long.” Jungeun sighed and walked behind Jinsol as she watched her walk briskly to the goblet. She looked so adorable with her skirt bouncing as she walked and blonde hair swaying enchantingly.

The blonde pulled a small piece of blue parchment out of her blazer’s pocket and put her name into the goblet, smiling in satisfaction once the flames turned red to signify it had been received. She practically skipped back to Jungeun and pulled her into a hug.

Jungeun let out a breathy laugh. “You’re so cute,” she mumbled before her face flushed when Jinsol kissed her cheek. 

Jiwoo cleared her throat, and the girls separated themselves. The redhead bobbed her head in the direction of a Beauxbatons girl and Durmstrang girl sitting alone at the Hufflepuff table. “Look, it’s Heejin and her friend!” she said cheerily.

“We should go talk to them,” Haseul suggested. She cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted, “Heejin! Who’s your friend?”

Heejin turned around and smiled, beckoning her friends over to her. “Hey, guys! Come meet Hyunjin.”

Jungeun grabbed Jinsol’s hand and waltzed over to where Heejin and Hyunjin were sitting. Heejin gestured to her friends. “Hyunjin, this is Haseul, Jiwoo, Jungeun, and Jinsol. Everyone, this is Hyunjin.”

“Hello,” Hyunjin said coolly.

“Hi there, Hyunjin! Welcome to Hogwarts! Do you like it here?” Jiwoo said cheerfully, grinning widely while taking Hyunjin’s hand and shaking it.

Hyunjin looked a little taken aback by the girl’s cheerfulness. She cleared her throat and nodded. “Yeah, Hogwarts is much bigger than Durmstrang, but our grounds are much larger.”

Jinsol smiled at Hyunjin. “Oh! I’m curious to know what the grounds are like at Durmstrang! The gardens at Beauxbatons are vast and so beautiful, but don’t you have mountains too?”

“Yes. Large mountains,” Hyunjin replied.

Haseul giggled, giving Hyunjin a similarly cheerful grin. “Are you used to those? Durmstrang takes students from all over Europe, right? Where are you from-”

“I’m sorry. What’s so funny?” Hyunjin blurted out with narrow eyes, catching the four girls off guard. “Am I missing something? Do I have food on my face?”

“Hyun, they’re just being polite,” Heejin said softly, reaching over to squeeze Hyunjin’s bicep.

Hyunjin tilted her head in confusion. “But they’re smiling so much? I don’t understand.”

“We must be overwhelming her,” Jungeun concluded, nodding curtly at Hyunjin. “I’m sorry if we freaked you out, Hyunjin,” she said, trying to be reassuring. She knew at times her overly cheerful friends could intimidate people, and she wanted to make sure that Hyunjin wouldn’t go running off blabbing to her classmates about how crazy they were.

“It’s okay,” Hyunjin replied. She turned to Haseul, who looked very nervous. “I’m from Russia, to answer your question. I am used to large mountains. There are barely any mountains near Hogwarts.”

“Oh, you ought to see the ones by Hogsmeade!” Heejin said excitedly, squeezing Hyunjin’s hand. “The next visit, I’ll take you to see them. Would you like that?”

Hyunjin nodded, seeming to be less tense once Heejin spoke to her. She flashed her a small smile. “I’d love to go. After we go to that joke shop, please?”

“Maybe we can all go together?” Jiwoo suggested. “It’s been a while since Jinsol has been to Hogsmeade too. This will be the perfect welcome gift!”

“I miss the butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks. That’s the coziest inn ever,” Jinsol hummed in agreement, nudging Jungeun’s side. 

Jungeun smiled softly and leaned her head on Jinsol’s shoulder. She wondered if she could ask Jinsol to spend time with her alone during their Hogsmeade visit. Maybe they could go to that couple’s tea shop where Hyejoo and Chaewon went. Not that Jinsol and Jungeun were a couple yet! But that was the perfect place to send a message to Jinsol that she was interested in her. Yeah, she could definitely see herself confessing her feelings in that cozy little tea shop.

Just then, the Great Hall doors burst open, and Yeojin, Yerim, and Hyejoo briskly entered the room with Chaewon trailing behind them.

“Please don’t do this! You could get hurt!” Chaewon pleaded, grabbing onto Hyejoo’s arm.

Hyejoo shook the girl’s arm off and continued walking. “Nothing’s going to stop me from being Hogwarts Champion.”

“Gather ‘round! Gather ‘round!” Yeojin shouted as she climbed up onto a bench near the age line. Students took notice of the small Gryffindor loudly calling for their attention and stopped what they were doing. “You know how good ol’ headmaster Taemin said that no one under seventeen or a seventh year couldn’t enter? Well, I’m about to prove you wrong!” She pulled a small flask out of her robe and showed it off. “Here, here! An aging potion! I’d like to see Taemin’s stupid age line stop us!”

Haseul rolled her eyes. “Yeojin! That’s absurd,” she called out. “The goblet knows the records of all the students and their years!”

“Nothing a good Confundus Charm can’t fix,” Hyejoo said before casting the spell at the goblet. “Now, the goblet will think anyone who enters will be a seventh year.”

“That’s clever,” Hyunjin said quietly. “I could’ve tried that.”

Chaewon ran her hand through her hair as Yerim and Hyejoo joined Yeojin on the bench. “I’m begging you, don’t do it! Taemin is a far more powerful wizard than the three of you combined! He probably has something set up in case students like you decide to deceive it!”

“You have no faith in us, Chae!” Yerim said, pulling her own flask out of her robes. “We were up all night making the potion. It’s absolutely fool-proof.”

“This is going to be a disaster,” Jinsol whispered in Jungeun’s ear.

Jungeun nodded and chuckled quietly. “Is it bad I kind of want to see what happens though?”

The three fifth years linked arms and held their flasks up to their lips. “Just a mouthful should work,” Hyejoo said. “We only need to age up a few years.”

“Bottoms up!” Yeojin chirped, downing a mouthful of the potion. Yerim and Hyejoo did the same.

“On my count,” Yerim said, holding her fingers up. “1… 2… 3!”

Heejin gasped and covered her eyes. “Oh, Merlin, I can’t watch this.”

The fifth years jumped from the bench onto the floor, passing the age line. Jungeun could hardly believe they had pulled it off. The three of them hooted and hollered at their victory and then pulled their pieces of paper out of their robes, successfully putting their names in the Goblet of Fire.

“Have they actually done it?” Jiwoo whispered. “I can’t believe it.”

Chaewon had a stunned look on her face once the three girls started celebrating. Just then, the goblet's fire grew enormously and shot the three pieces of paper out of the goblet. A powerful force escaped the goblet and pushed the fifth years out of the age line, sending them tumbling to the floor a few feet away. Then, gray beards began to grow on their faces.

Jungeun and her friends roared with laughter as they watched the poor girls start feeling their beards in horror.

“I told you this was going to happen!” Chaewon yelled shrilly, rushing to Hyejoo’s side. “I told you!”

Hyejoo growled and ignored the blonde girl, sending Yeojin an angry glare. “You! You stupid piece of shit! This is all your fault!”

“My fault!?” Yeojin barked. “You’re the idiot who tried to bewitch the goblet!”

“I should strangle you, you git!” Hyejoo lunged and tackled the girl to the ground. Yeojin was quick to react and screamed, trying her best to wrestle with the much larger girl on top of her.

Yerim sat off to the side while her two friends wrestled with each other and stroked her beard. “Huh,” she said in amusement, “I never knew beards could be so soft…”

Students began to gather around the Slytherin and Gryffindor while they wrestled with each other, Jungeun and her friends joining the crowd too, but the fun came to an end when the Great Hall doors opened, and Miss Sunmi and the rest of the Durmstrang delegation entered. The crowd dispersed and moved to where they were before.

Haseul made her way over to Yeojin and Hyejoo and waved her wand, separating the two girls. “Ten points from Gryffindor and Slytherin for this nonsense. I ought to give you detention. And Yerim, five points from Hufflepuff too. Although, at least you had the decency not to break out into a fight,” she said sternly as she pulled the girls up to their feet. “Let me take you three to the Hospital Wing.”

“I’ll come too,” Chaewon said insistently as she clung to Hyejoo’s arm.

“Fine with me,” Haseul sighed. “Jiwoo?”

Jiwoo’s cheeks flushed as she nodded. “Yeah, sure, I’ll come with you, Seul.”

The six of them left the Great Hall, and Jungeun focused her attention on the line of Durmstrang students putting their name in the Goblet of Fire. She noticed Yves was in the back of the line, still looking as gorgeous as ever. She couldn’t help but blush when Yves made eye contact with her and winked.

“Ugh,” Jinsol huffed. “Of course, Yves is entering the tournament. Doesn’t she already have eternal glory? She doesn’t need any more.”

Jungeun shrugged. “Why else would she be here?”

“The brilliant education?” Heejin suggested.

Hyunjin snorted and shook her head. “Hilarious joke. Durmstrang has an exceptional education. I’d only willingly go to Hogwarts for an occasion like this one. Then again, I’m not even entering the tournament… so...”

“If you’re not entering the tournament, then why are you here?” Jinsol asked seriously.

Hyunjin didn’t answer her.

“Hey, Hyunjin!” Yves called. “Come over here!”

Hyunjin rolled her eyes and got out of her seat. “I’ll be back, I guess,” she mumbled. Jungeun watched as the girl sauntered over to Yves. Yves pulled Hyunjin aside and whispered in her ear, pointing at Jinsol and Jungeun. Hyunjin furrowed her brows in confusion and seemed to say something in protest, but Yves was already placing something in her hand and shoving her back in the direction of Jungeun and Jinsol.

Jungeun furrowed her brows and looked at Jinsol uncertainly while Hyunjin made her way back towards them. Jinsol smiled down at her and squeezed her hand reassuringly.

The redhead approached them and pulled out an orange candy. “Yves asked me to give this to you, Jinsol, as a peace offering for last night,” Hyunjin said. “I have no idea why she couldn’t give it to you herself, but I suppose all people ever do is use Kim Hyunjin as their personal assistant.”

Jinsol squinted in confusion as she examined the candy. “Peace offering? Well, I guess you can tell her thanks, but I’m not a huge fan of sweets.” She turned to Jungeun and smiled warmly at her. “Do you want it instead, Jungeun?”

Jungeun nodded and smiled, never the one to say no to sweets. “Sure! Why not?” She popped the orange candy into her mouth.

“WAIT!” Yves yelled as she was putting her name in the Goblet of Fire. “Don’t eat that candy, you’ll-”

Her nose started gushing with blood. Jungeun screamed as she did her best to cover her nose. “What the hell!?” she cried. “Someone get me a tissue!”

Jinsol wrapped her arms around Jungeun protectively.  _ “Mon dieu, qu'est-ce que c'est?” _

Yves swore loudly and ran a hand through her hair. “Hyunjin! Give her the purple candy I gave you!”

Hyunjin fished for something in her pocket and pulled out a similar-sized purple candy. “Here! This should fix it!”

Jungeun ate the purple candy, only to find that the bleeding had only increased even more. She panicked and wailed wordlessly. “What the hell do I do? What the fuck did you just give me?”

Heejin hadn’t said a word since this whole debacle. She was clearly too in shock to speak.

“It was a Blood Blisterpod, wasn’t it?” Jinsol hissed. She turned to Yves and glared at her. “You moron! You tried to give me a Nosebleed Nougat, didn’t you? And then when my nose would start bleeding, you’d make it worse instead of fixing it! I should hex you!”

Yves’s eyes widened as she started making her way towards them. “I’m sorry. I didn’t-”

“Shut up! Stay away from us!” Jinsol yelled. “You’ve caused enough damage.” She grabbed Jungeun’s hand and dragged her out of the Great Hall. “C’mon, darling, let’s go to the Hospital Wing. I’m so sorry.”

Jungeun wanted to cry in embarrassment. While still pinching her nose, she turned back to see Yves looking at her with the most devastating expression Jungeun had ever seen. Maybe Yves had some kindness in her, but it wasn’t enough to stop her from trying to play a horrible prank on Jinsol. What was her deal?

* * *

“And that’s why you shouldn’t take candy from strangers, Lip,” Yeojin said, stroking her now beardless face. “Orange candy, especially. You’re a horrible prankster if you don’t know that orange candy could  _ easily  _ be a Skiving Snackbox candy.”

“Jungeun isn’t exactly the brightest witch we know,” Hyejoo remarked.

Jungeun rolled her eyes distastefully. “I got ten OWLs. I’m pretty damn smart, alright?”

Yerim pulled back the privacy screen by her hospital bed and stepped out, flashing a big smile. “I’m no longer hairy-faced! Although, I kind of miss the beard. It was a little bit cozy and warm on my face,” she said dreamily.

The three fifth years had been in the Hospital Wing as long as Jungeun had been. Apparently, Jungeun’s nose was so messed up that it needed more care than a normal nosebleed. Considering there really wasn’t much else to do on a Saturday, Jungeun decided to wait with her friends while they got their beards removed. The Halloween Feast was about to begin soon, and Jungeun couldn’t wait to see who had been chosen as champions.

“I can’t believe Yves tried to pull a prank on Jinsol though! Hilarious!” Yeojin babbled as the four of them left the Hospital Wing. “Maybe Yves is attempting to cheat because she knows she can’t possibly win on her fame alone-” Yeojin froze in her spot and choked on her breath. “O-Oh, hi, Yves, what a surprise!”

Jungeun’s eyes widened in disbelief as her gaze landed on the celebrity leaning against the stone wall. The girl looked exhausted as if she had been standing outside of there for hours. Her face seemed to light up a bit once she saw Jungeun though, but a look of annoyance returned when Yeojin spoke to her, “Yves, can you sign my arm?”

Yves shook her head. “Not now, kid. I need to talk to your friend.”

Yeojin pouted and whined. “Awww, it’ll only be a minute-”

“C’mon, Yeojin.” Hyejoo grabbed Yeojin’s arm roughly. “If you piss her off now, she’ll never sign your arm.” 

When the smaller girl scowled, Hyejoo just huffed and began dragging Yeojin down the corridor. Yerim skipped behind them and turned her head to look back at Jungeun and Yves. “Be careful with my friend, Yves, mkay? Don’t try and make her nose bleed again!”

“I didn’t-” Yves groaned loudly and rubbed her temples. “I fucked up with that one, didn’t I?”

“Yeah,” Jungeun said, “you did.”

“Well…” Yves let out a frustrated sigh and frowned. “I’m sorry again. I wanted to give this to you. I asked for directions to the Hospital Wing, so I could properly apologize,” she explained. “I didn’t expect to be waiting out here for a while.”

Jungeun raised a brow in disbelief, shifting her weight uncomfortably. “You’ve been waiting out here? For me?”

Yves didn’t respond and pulled a red box from behind her. She practically shoved it in her face as the Durmstrang’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment. “Chocolate Cauldrons, for you, as an apology,” Yves muttered.

“I appreciate the gesture, but why would you give me food after that whole debacle? The last thing I should accept from you is more food. It could be laced with poison!”

“I, uh, fuck!” Yves whined, “I’m so stupid!”

She couldn’t help but laugh at how Yves was acting. This was the kind of behavior she was  _ least  _ expecting from someone who seemed so confident and put together. Really, Yves was a total dork.

“Hey, Yves, it’s okay…” Jungeun said softly, taking the chocolate from her and giving her a sympathetic look.

“It’s Sooyoung.”

“What?”

“My name is Sooyoung.”

Jungeun stared at Yves, or well,  _ Sooyoung  _ blankly.

“You didn’t think Yves was my actual name, did you?”

Jungeun refused to answer that question.

Now, it was Sooyoung’s turn to laugh, and she had such a sweet laugh, the kind of laugh that gave Jungeun’s stomach butterflies and made her feel as light as a feather. Jungeun scratched her head, trying her best to play off the fact that she was a total idiot. First, she assumed Sooyoung had mostly male fans, and then she assumed that Yves was her real name. Hyejoo was right. Maybe Jungeun wasn’t the brightest witch ever.

Sooyoung’s laughter died down. “Oh, I needed that.” She let out a soft sigh and smiled warmly at Jungeun. “Can we start over? I feel like I’ve gotten off on the wrong foot with you. Between your  _ friend  _ and the Nosebleed Nougat, I don’t want that to be your impression of me. Well, the real me.”

Jungeun considered her words for a second. She wasn’t one to hold grudges for too long, but she knew that Jinsol wouldn’t exactly approve if she befriended Sooyoung. But then again, Jinsol shouldn’t have any control over who she hung out with. She could easily be friends with both as long as she made sure they wouldn’t end up fighting again. That shouldn’t be too hard, right?

“Okay, let’s start over,” Jungeun decided.

Sooyoung outstretched her hand and smiled. “Hello, I’m Sooyoung. I’m a student at Durmstrang, but you might know me better as Yves, the Bulgarian Seeker. What’s your name?”

Jungeun took her hand, stopping herself from bursting out laughing. “I’m Jungeun. I go to Hogwarts. I’m the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.”

The brunette hummed and brought Jungeun’s hand up to her lips, pressing a gentle kiss to it. Jungeun’s cheeks flushed. And they said chivalry was dead! “Lovely to meet you, Jungeun,” she practically purred. “Now, if you could help me out… I have no idea how to get back to the Great Hall from here. Doesn’t the feast start soon?”

“It does,” Jungeun laughed. “Wait, what would’ve happened if I hadn’t been here? How would you even get back to the Great Hall?”

“Good thing you’re here then, right?” Sooyoung countered.

“I suppose you have a point.”

Sooyoung flashed her a cocky smirk. “I’m always right, Jungeun. Don’t forget that.” There was that Yves confidence making a return. Sooyoung understandably had to put up an appearance, and Jungeun couldn’t exactly figure out yet where Yves ended and Sooyoung started. Perhaps it was a mixture of both. Either way, Jungeun was curious to find out more about one of the greatest Seekers of all time.

* * *

Despite the Halloween Feast having a large spread of food and fancy desserts, everyone’s attention was far from the feast. Jungeun didn’t even have to look around the Great Hall to tell that people kept constantly looking at the Goblet of Fire in anticipation for the champions to be announced. But Jungeun wasn’t just looking at the Goblet of Fire, she looked at both the Slytherin and the Ravenclaw tables to see what Jinsol and Sooyoung were up to.

Nine times out of ten when Jungeun looked over at Jinsol, Jinsol would catch her gaze and smile at her. The times Jinsol didn’t see here were when she was occupied in a conversation with Heejin and Chaewon. As for Sooyoung, that was a different story. The girl was popular and surrounded by  _ countless  _ students talking to her and stealing her attention. Jungeun admittedly felt a strong sense of pride when those students glared in envy as she and Sooyoung entered the Great Hall together. However, there was one point when Sooyoung saw Jungeun looking at her and smiled at her. That was good enough.

Jiwoo’s hand gently ran through Jungeun’s hair, catching the girl by surprise. She turned to her best friend in confusion when she saw Jiwoo’s soft, concerned expression. “How’s your nose doing?”

“It’s been drained properly,” Jungeun said dryly.

“What does that even mean, Jungeun!?” Jiwoo asked in horror, hitting her arm. 

Jungeun just grinned cheekily. “It means my nose is fine. Thank you for asking.”

“Stupid ass,” Yeojin chuckled across from them, “can’t believe you did that. I’m never going to let you live it down. We might just have to call you Kim Nose from now on.”

“It doesn’t have the same ring to it,” Jungeun huffed in disapproval. She scrunched her nose up in disgust and rolled her eyes. “Nor does it have the same meaning.”

Yeojin smirked and shook her head. “If you insist, Kim Nose.”

“You know, you really shouldn’t be talking after the whole aging potion stunt you pulled,” Jiwoo quipped. “What were you thinking!?”

“If there’s one thing I want in life, it’s to be remembered. People who do the most outrageous things get remembered the easiest. Thus, I have found my calling.”

The lights in the Great Hall suddenly dimmed, and Professor Taemin stepped forward from the head table towards the Goblet of Fire. Miss Sunmi and Madame Bae walked behind him and stood to the side while Taemin approached the goblet. Jungeun noticed Vivi and the other Ministry official exit the Great Hall through a door to the back, probably where the champions were supposed to go once they were selected.

“It is now time to select our three champions,” Taemin said coolly. He took a step closer to the goblet and held his hand out.

As the flames turned red, something erupted from the goblet and floated in the air before landing in Taemin’s hand. Jungeun realized that it must have been one of the slips of parchment put into the goblet as an entry. 

He unraveled the parchment and pursed his lips before reading out the name on the paper. “The champion from Durmstrang… Ha Sooyoung!”

The Durmstrang students roared and cheered as Sooyoung stood up with a proud smile on her face. Hyunjin clapped Sooyoung on the back before the Durmstrang champion made her way to Taemin and shook his hand. She stood next to Miss Sunmi and crossed her arms over her chest. Jungeun could tell some students were confused seeing Sooyoung stand up. Like her, they believed her real name was Yves. 

“Yves? She’s got a different name than… Yves?” Jiwoo gasped.

“Yeah, just like my name’s not Kim Lip,” Jungeun replied jokingly.

“It’s  _ Kim Nose,"  _ Yeojin teased.

Another piece of parchment burst out of the goblet and swiftly landed in Taemin’s hand. He unraveled it and cleared his throat. “Ah, the champion from Beauxbatons… Jung Jinsol!”

“YEAH, JINSOL!” Jungeun cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted. She watched as Jinsol turned red after Jungeun shouted her name, but Jungeun could tell Jinsol loved it. The blonde stood up while her fellow students congratulated her. Heejin and Chaewon both hugged her excitedly, and a few other Beauxbatons students hugged her as well. Although, a few of those Beauxbatons students also looked rather jealous. 

Jinsol gracefully walked to shake Taemin’s hand and stood by Madame Bae. She opened her arms to hug Madame Bae, but the headmistress shook her head and scowled, causing the girl to pout.

Sooyoung was glaring at Jinsol, and once Jinsol realized that, she wasted no time in glaring back. Jungeun’s heart admittedly skipped a beat. Wow, who knew two hot girls looking angry would make her feel some type of way? No, this was exactly what she didn’t want! Now, Sooyoung and Jinsol would have even more reasons to hate each other. Who was she supposed to root for?

And her question was answered in the form of the Hogwarts champion that Taemin was just about to announce.

“And the champion from Hogwarts, Jo Haseul.”

Jiwoo leaped to her feet and practically squealed in excitement. Jungeun got on her feet and applauded as well. She watched Haseul’s eyes widen in complete shock as she was pulled onto her feet by Yerim. Jungeun reckoned that Haseul had no idea that she would actually get chosen as a champion. Still, she could think of no better person to represent their school.

When Haseul approached Taemin, the headmaster pulled her into a hug. She laughed nervously and hugged him back before practically bouncing to Jinsol. Both girls squealed and hugged each other tightly. Well, Beauxbatons and Hogwarts certainly would have a much friendlier competition. 

Sooyoung looked rather sulky as she watched the two girls hug. Jungeun felt bad for her. Obviously, it sucks when she has to compete against two people that know each other and will indirectly support each other.

“Ladies and gentlemen, our Triwizard champions.”

The Great Hall burst into applause in excitement over the champions. Jungeun was beyond excited to watch her friends and Sooyoung compete. She was about to leave the Gryffindor table and make her way towards them when Taemin ushered the champions to go into the back room. Jungeun pouted. Guess she wouldn’t be seeing the three of them that night.

Taemin dismissed the rest of the students, and Jungeun and Jiwoo trudged off to bed. Although Jungeun had done absolutely nothing that day, she still was exhausted. The excitement was very draining. 

“Don’t get too sad, we’ll see them soon,” Jiwoo whispered in her ear as they climbed the stairs up to their common room. “Just think of all the homework we have to do!”

“How is that supposed to cheer me up?” Jungeun hissed. “I have an essay for Transfiguration that I haven’t even started.”

Jiwoo shrugged indifferently. “It’ll distract you?” When Jungeun didn’t respond, Jiwoo laughed softly. “And by the way, I’m going to need your help with Care of Magical Creatures…”

“Why don’t you bother Jinsol?”

“She’s busy with the tournament!” Jiwoo protested. “Plus, I don’t want to steal your precious time with your  _ girlfriend.” _

Jungeun flushed and hid her face from Jiwoo. “She’s not my-”

“Password?” the portrait of the Fat Lady asked shrilly as the two Gryffindors approached her portrait. Jungeun was thankful for the distraction from this very embarrassing conversation.

Jiwoo sighed and rolled her eyes. “You know I’m right,” she muttered before turning to give the portrait a cheerful look. “Doxy eggs!”

The portrait swung open and both girls entered. Jungeun let out an exhausted sigh as she marched into the common room. “Now, that this tournament has kicked off, I have more important matters to attend to than  _ swooning  _ over Jinsol like you think I am.”

“And that is…?” Jiwoo asked suspiciously.

“Making sure we kick Slytherin’s ass in the match next week. If by any chance Soo- Yves plays for Slytherin, we’re fucked. I need my team ready. We  _ will  _ win the cup this year.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, thank you for reading! i hope you enjoyed this chapter! the love triangle is slowly starting to form as yvesoul solidify their rivalry and sooyoung has already made a good impression on jungeun. what will this mean for lipsoul? who knows? let's just say jungeun is one lucky girl to be getting all this attention.
> 
> twitter:  
> @hyeslipse  
> curious cat:  
> curiouscat.me/hyeslipse
> 
> translations:  
> mon dieu, qu'est que c'est? - my god, what is this?


	4. THREE: LIONS AND SERPENTS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i apologize for this late chapter update! i wanted to finish the semester before i worked on this chapter, but now that i'm on summer break i'll have plenty of time to work on this!!

“Thirty seconds, Heejin!? Are you kidding me?” Jungeun bellowed as she watched Heejin slow her broom to a stop after a fifty feet dive to catch the snitch. “I’ve seen you catch the snitch way earlier and with a way faster dive! Get it together!”

Heejin exhaled loudly and wiped the sweat off of her forehead. “For fuck’s sake, Jungeun, you can’t expect me to be at my full potential at six in the morning!” She rolled her eyes and flew up so she was at eye level with Jungeun. “May I also remind you that I’ve been at Beauxbatons for months?”

“You had plenty of opportunities to practice over the summer.”

“In plain view of the Muggles? Fat chance, Kim.”

Maybe it wasn’t the best idea in the entire world to have Gryffindor Quidditch practices starting at five in the morning. Usually, they started at six, but some other team reserved the pitch for six, so Jungeun forced her exhausted team to adjust to an earlier practice for the day. Jungeun swore once she found out who was responsible for this catastrophe, she’d make them pay.

Jungeun sighed and adjusted her ponytail. “Ten seconds. I want you to be able to catch the snitch in a ten-second dive,” she said firmly. “Yves could do it in eight seconds. No, six seconds, she set the world record for fastest snitch catching in a spiral dive.”

“I can’t believe Yves is the new standard,” Heejin huffed.

“Neither can I,” Jungeun said, “but we have to deal with it.”

Heejin handed Jungeun the snitch and flew high in the air. She looked down at Jungeun and waited for Jungeun to give her the signal. Counting down from three with her fingers, she made eye contact with Heejin and then released the snitch. Heejin swooped down from the sky at full speed and grabbed the snitch much faster than before.

Jungeun looked at her stopwatch. “Twelve seconds. Way better, Heejin. We just need you at a consistent ten seconds then I think you’ll be a decent match if we’re up against Yves.”

“Thanks, Jungeun,” Heejin laughed dryly, knowing there was no way she could ever compare to the world-renowned seeker.

She flashed a soft smile to her best friend.

“Aha! I found the culprits!” Yeojin shouted from across the pitch. “Look who’s trudging their way up to the pitch… it’s those slimy Slytherins!” The fifth year gasped loudly and then cried in despair. “There’s a Durmstrang girl with them! I think it could be-”

“Yves,” Heejin and Jungeun finished for her.

Jungeun let out a loud, frustrated groan. “Of course, of _all_ teams, it’s the Slytherins.” She thought that Sooyoung would be different, considering how sweet the girl had been to her before. She had hoped Sooyoung would want to spend more time with her and play on the same Quidditch team as her. But why should she get her hopes up when Durmstrang sat at the Slytherin table after all? They probably already sunk their claws, or well, _fangs_ into her.

“Practice is over, guys,” Jungeun said dejectedly. “Good job. We got a lot done.”

Heejin clapped Jungeun on the back of the shoulder. “Hey, cheer up, Jungeun, there’s still a chance we could go to the Quidditch cup if we lose to Slytherin. Just make sure those sexy lips of yours block all the score attempts, Kim Lip.”

Jungeun scowled in annoyance and descended to the ground. 

Just as the team had made their way to the ground and had packed up their supplies, the Slytherin Quidditch team made their way out onto the pitch with their captain Jennie, Hyejoo, and Sooyoung in the front.

“Jungeun,” Jennie said in a teasing tone. “Look who we’ve recruited for our team! It looks like you’ll be saying goodbye to the cup once again. There’s no way Heejin could go any faster than Yves here.”

“Shut up, Jennie,” Lisa, the other Beater on the Gryffindor team, growled and stepped forward rather threateningly.

“Why don’t you make me, Manoban?”

Hyejoo just scoffed, looking the least amused at the disgusting display between the two seventh years as they stared each other down.

Meanwhile, Sooyoung’s attention was fully on Jungeun. The celebrity had a wide smile on her face as she greeted Jungeun. “Hey, Jungeun! I’m excited to play Quidditch against you this weekend.”

“Uh…” Jungeun laughed nervously. “I don’t know if you know this, but typically Slytherins and Gryffindors-”

“Oh! I know about it. Jennie told me that Gryffindor and Slytherin have a friendly competition between them. I already asked her if there would be a problem, considering everything!” Sooyoung interrupted with the most innocent look on her face. What the hell had Jennie told her?

“FRIENDLY COMPETITION?” Yeojin barked. The small girl roared with laughter. “Oh, please! Gryffindor and Slytherin have been rivals since the founding of Hogwarts. The rivalry has toned down considerably since the wizarding wars. That’s why Hyejoo and I are friends,” she explained as she sent a wink in Hyejoo’s direction. The taller girl scowled and averted her gaze. Yeojin nudged her head in the direction of Jennie and Lisa. “And also why these two are dating…”

“We’re not dating!” Jennie and Lisa shot back at the exact same time.

Yeojin laughed. “Oh, my bad.” She shrugged and shook her head as Jennie and Lisa both shot each other nervous looks. “The point is Gryffindors and Slytherins are bitter rivals when it comes to Quidditch.” She put her hands on her hips and smirked. “Yves, if you’re trying to befriend Jungeun after you just made her nose bleed, this is the wrong move.”

Sooyoung’s face fell considerably, and her lips protruded into a pout. Jungeun wanted so bad to wrap her arms around her and assure her that everything would be okay. She wouldn’t let some stupid rivalry ruin their friendship. She opened her mouth to speak, but Sooyoung spoke first, “In that case, I want to be on the Gryffindor team,” she said assertively.

“What!?” Jennie squeaked in surprise.

“What!?” Jungeun echoed, also clearly surprised.

Sooyoung nodded. “Mhm. I don’t wanna be against you in a rivalry. That’s just so stupid. This is why Durmstrang doesn’t have houses.” She chuckled gently. “Besides, red is more my color anyway.”

Heejin made her way to the crowd after finishing the last bit of clean-up and stopped suddenly as she came up to Jungeun’s side. “Wait, what’s going on?”

“I’m joining the Gryffindor team,” Sooyoung said.

“I’m being replaced as seeker!?” Heejin blurted out.

Sooyoung shook her head. “No. My coach and I agreed that I would outperform everyone on a school team, so he challenged me to play a different position.”

“Oh… thank goodness, I’m safe.”

Jennie let out an annoyed groan. “Well, it’s your choice, Yves, but don’t come crawling back to us when you realize you could’ve had the better team. C’mon, let’s start practice.” She led Hyejoo and the other Slytherins out onto the pitch, looking back at Lisa one last time briefly before opening the Quidditch supply closet.

“Well, you could play Chaser?” Jungeun suggested. “We have three Chasers, but our third one honestly sucks ass. He’s also not at practice right now…”

Sooyoung nodded and smiled, crossing her arms over her chest. “I think I could play Chaser. It’s just throwing the Quaffle into the goal post, right?”

“And avoiding Bludgers and performing maneuvers with other Chasers. This position’s all about teamwork… not personal glory like a Seeker,” Jungeun elaborated.

The Durmstrang girl hummed in thought. “Okay, I guess I’ll have to learn how to work with other people,” Sooyoung said softly. She let out a gentle laugh. “Which is weird, my coach trains our Chasers not to pass the Quaffle at all. It’s all about being the best player you can be, not working as a team.”

“Maybe that’s why you lost the World Cup a few years ago,” Heejin said bluntly.

Jungeun glared at Heejin angrily. “Heejin!”

“No, it’s okay…” Sooyoung smiled weakly. “She’s right.”

She really wanted to punch Heejin right in the nose for making Sooyoung feel bad. Gosh, when did she care so much about another girl’s feelings? Let alone a celebrity badass like Sooyoung who could definitely take on anyone and anything. The Goblet of Fire had deemed her worthy after all.

“Um, anyway,” Jungeun cleared her throat awkwardly and scratched the back of her neck. “I guess I’ll go tell what’s-his-name that he’s no longer on the team.”

Yeojin cackled. “Oh, boy, Lip, can I please do it? I’ve been wanting to call him a loser for _so_ long.”

“Yeah, sure thing, Yeojin.”

“Frick yeah! C’mon, Heejin! Lisa! Come with me!” She grabbed the two girls’ hands and dragged them in the direction of the locker rooms with all of her tiny might.

Jungeun let out a soft exhale. Great, now she was alone with Sooyoung. Who knows what crazy thing she would say that would end up embarrassing herself?

“Did she call you ‘Lip’?” Sooyoung asked in confusion.

“Yeah,” Jungeun affirmed. “It’s my nickname. Kim Lip. Just like how your name is Yves.”

Sooyoung blushed profusely and shook her head. “There’s gotta be a story behind that.”

Jungeun laughed and nodded, recalling that fated day easily. “Oh yeah, crazy story. Final match between Slytherin during my fourth year. These Slytherin Chasers start barreling towards me and throw the Quaffle at the right goal. I immediately lunge to the right and the Quaffle hits me square in the lip and ends up splitting it. But hey, I ended up blocking the goal,” she told her with a soft smile. “Then Jinsol, who was spending the semester at Hogwarts, starts chanting ‘Kim Lip! Kim Lip!’” She couldn’t help but notice Sooyoung’s face contort into an unreadable expression at the mention of Jinsol. “So yeah, that’s why they call me Kim Lip on the pitch.”

“You and Jinsol must be close,” Sooyoung said bluntly, seemingly ignoring Jungeun’s story.

“Um… yeah, we are,” Jungeun said quietly, feeling a little vulnerable under Sooyoung’s intense gaze.

The older girl reached over and tucked a bit of loose brown hair behind Jungeun’s ear. “I hope we can get as close as that.”

 _That would mean I would have feelings for you,_ Jungeun wanted to say, but she didn’t, and instead, she smiled and leaned into Sooyoung’s touch. “I would like that a lot, Sooyoung.”

“Good,” Sooyoung said softly, thumb brushing over Jungeun’s cheek before dropping her hand. “I’ll tell you why I’m called Yves another time. It’s a little personal… and all I can think of now is having sausage and onions for breakfast. Have you eaten yet?”

“No, I haven’t,” Jungeun replied. “I’m starving.”

Sooyoung giggled gently. “Jungeun, you need to eat to keep your strength up. All that intense practice without food? You’re setting a poor example for the team.”

“Sorry, I’m not a professional Quidditch player,” she mumbled.

“I know that, but now you _do_ have a professional Quidditch player on your team, and I’m more than happy to give pointers… for a price.” Sooyoung grinned at her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Jungeun rolled her eyes. “A price? Don’t be ridiculous,” she huffed, playfully shoving Sooyoung. “...Can we go eat now?”

“I’m waiting for you. I have no idea how to get back to the Great Hall.”

“Geez, you are going to be screwed for your first day of classes today.”

Sooyoung smiled and linked their arms. “Yeah, I might be, but I’m also a celebrity. They’ll have to let me off easily.”

“If you say so…” Jungeun snorted.

The more she talked to Sooyoung, the more she found herself drawn to her. She was naturally charming and hilarious. Jungeun couldn’t get enough of her. She just hoped that Sooyoung wouldn’t get bored of her so fast that she’d move on to some other Hogwarts student. Jungeun was slowly becoming more and more hated by the groups of fangirls that liked to crowd around Sooyoung.

But she shouldn’t let herself get too attached. Not yet anyway. Still, it was hard not to indulge in everything that was Ha Sooyoung.

* * *

“So, you wouldn’t believe what I had to go through this morning,” Haseul said as she and Jungeun crossed the Viaduct to get to their next classes. Charms for Jungeun, and Transfiguration for Haseul. Of course, Haseul knew of a secret passage from the Grand Staircase to the Transfiguration Courtyard, but she decided to take the long way to fill Jungeun in on the details of the Wand Weighing ceremony. Jungeun had no idea that weighing wands was so damn important for a tournament anyway. Haseul told her it was to make sure their wands were in perfect shape and not jinxed or anything.

“It was so awkward,” Haseul recounted, laughing as she shook her head. “Ryu Sera was there from the _Daily Prophet._ She was so eager to get up in our business, but she was specifically curious about Yves. Why should she care so much? She already got an interview out of her like a year ago.”

Jungeun shrugged. “Things can change in a year. Maybe Yves got more muscles.”

“Only you and her scary group of fangirls would notice if she got more muscles,” Haseul retorted.

“Yeah, right.”

“On top of Vivi being there, gosh, she won’t even look me in the eye, you know? It hurts my heart,” she continued. “I don’t know what I did to her. I thought we ended things mutually. I pulled her aside afterward… She just said it was a conflict of interest if we spoke. Conflict of interest? We were friends for years before we dated! No tournament should get in the way of that.”

A sympathetic smile formed on Jungeun’s lips as she gently rubbed Haseul’s back. “Oh, Seul, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s whatever, Jungeun. I’m hoping she’ll come around.” Haseul hastily turned to notice Hyejoo and Chaewon who were just leaving the large vestibule in front of them. The two girls stopped and froze when they saw Haseul and Jungeun in front of them.

“Cutting class?” Haseul asked incredulously.

“I’m not,” Chaewon said quickly. “I’m just walking Hyejoo to Potions.”

“Potions class is the other way…” Jungeun raised a brow.

Hyejoo scoffed and grabbed Chaewon’s wrist roughly. “Mind your own business, Kim,” she hissed.

“Hyejoo, I don’t want to be late for Charms…”

“Alright, okay, you won’t be late. I promise. Just five more minutes, please, babe?”

“Okay, five more minutes.”

The two girls walked off hand-in-hand, leaving Haseul and Jungeun in complete confusion. She watched as Chaewon rested her head on Hyejoo’s shoulder as they walked before turning her attention back to Haseul. “They’re so weird. I can never really tell what’s going on between them,” Haseul said softly.

Jungeun nodded while the two of them entered the vestibule and climbed the stairs to the next floor. “But they seem happy. That’s enough for me.” She sighed gently. “Tell me more about this Wand Weighing ceremony.”

“Oh, yeah!” Haseul’s expression changed immediately to a much chipper one as she started explaining what happened. “So we all had to stand there and take a picture for the _Daily Prophet_ , right? Next week, we’re doing individual interviews, but it was so awkward. Jinsol and Yves kept glaring at each other, and I had to stand in the middle of them. I was literally third-wheeling their weird tension.”

 _How typical of Jinsol and Sooyoung. Great, I can’t believe this is becoming a regular thing,_ Jungeun thought. “Is that all?”

“Nope! So they had a guy come in and weigh our wands to make sure they’re working right. I completely had forgotten what my wand components were. Elm, unicorn hair, and 11 and ¼ inches. I suppose I should’ve done a better job remembering my wand core.”

Jungeun could not care any less about what was in Haseul’s wand.

“Anyways, we get to Jinsol’s, and she has a beautiful yew wand with a Veela hair wand core. Apparently from her own mother too! Then, Yves literally goes: ‘My wand is bigger than your wand.’ Like they’re comparing… like they’re comparing _y’know_ …”

“Oh my god,” Jungeun gasped, covering her mouth to prevent herself from bursting out into hideous laughter.

“She was right, you know.”

“Huh?”

“Yves’s wand is way bigger than Jinsol’s. By a good few inches.”

Jungeun roared with laughter. It was so loud that it caused a small first year that was passing by to drop her books on the floor. She flushed in embarrassment and grabbed Haseul’s hand, pulling the girl out of the corridor and out onto the Transfiguration Courtyard.

Haseul wheezed and shook her head in disbelief. “Oh, we are idiots. I can’t stand us.” She squinted and looked across the courtyard. “And speak of the devil, there they are now about to enter Transfiguration.”

She followed Haseul’s gaze to find Jinsol and a few Beauxbatons girls walking to Transfiguration on the left, and Sooyoung and Hyunjin walking together on the right. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw a flash of blonde hair as Jinsol turned to look in their direction. “Hi, Jinsol!” Jungeun called, cupping her hands over her mouth.

The Beauxbatons girl turned around and waved to Jungeun. “Hi, my dear, Jungeun!” She blew a kiss in her direction. “We’ll catch up later, okay?”

“Yeah… yeah! Of course!” Jungeun agreed. She couldn’t contain the grin on her face as she tucked a bit of her hair behind her ear and watched Jinsol enter the classroom.

When she looked at Sooyoung, the poor girl seemed to be scowling, but when their eyes met, the girl immediately smiled warmly and waved at her. Jungeun smiled and waved back.

“I see you have a thing for champions,” Haseul whispered in her ear.

Jungeun huffed. “No, I don’t! I never liked you back.” She chuckled and shrugged her shoulders. “Although, I won’t lie and say the thought hasn’t crossed my mind…”

“Jungeun…”

“What?”

“Don’t say that.”

“Sorry,” Jungeun apologized. Letting out a soft sigh, she gave Haseul a quick hug. “Alright, I’ve got to go to class. See you later?”

Haseul nodded. “Yeah. You bet you will.” The Head Girl gave her a salute and trudged off in the direction of Transfiguration. Jungeun was about to turn around and head upstairs to the Charms corridor when she heard Hyunjin call her name frantically.

“Hey! Jungeun!” Hyunjin scurried over to her. “You’re going to Charms, right? Can you show me the way?”

Jungeun smiled reassuringly, bobbing her head in the direction of the Charms classroom. “Sure thing, Hyunjin. Follow me.”

Hyunjin let out a sigh in relief. “Oh, phew. This castle is so much bigger than Durmstrang. I got lost like twenty times until Sooyoung helped me find my way around.”

“Mhm,” she couldn’t help but laugh. “Hogwarts is full of twists and turns.”

“So much walking too,” Hyunjin said exhaustedly. “Let’s hope your classes aren’t as rigorous.”

Jungeun could only laugh in reply as she led Hyunjin to Charms class.

* * *

Throughout the week, Jungeun learned two important things.

First, Kim Hyunjin was probably the most brilliant witch Jungeun had ever met. She was so intelligent, knew absolutely every answer to questions the professors asked, and could cast spells that Jungeun could only dream of pulling off. Hyunjin could cast a fully corporeal Patronus. She showed it off during Charms class on Monday. The same Charms class that Jungeun had to show Hyunjin the way to and when Chaewon lost five points for Ravenclaw for showing up late with distinct red marks on her neck. It didn’t take much to figure out how or why she had those marks.

But enough about Chaewon’s hickeys, Jungeun couldn’t get the image of Hyunjin’s Patronus out of her mind. It was a cat, rather fitting for her. A cat that wandered around the room for most of the class before resting in Heejin’s lap comfortably and then disappearing. 

“You’re brilliant,” Jiwoo had said to Hyunjin after class had ended. “You could probably teach us about magic better than any professor here.”

“I serve as an assistant for training,” Hyunjin responded, linking her arm with Heejin’s. “I’m too young to be in the tournament. But there are no rules about me being a guide to the Durmstrang champion.”

Chaewon frowned quizzically. “But I thought all champions stood alone?”

“Imagine thinking people win the Triwizard Tournament by playing fairly,” Hyunjin laughed dryly.

She did have a point.

The second thing Jungeun learned was that Sooyoung didn’t listen to anybody. It took long, frustrating practices for Jungeun to learn that Sooyoung ignored any coaching or instructions. The strong point of Gryffindor’s team besides Jungeun’s brilliant Keeper skills and Heejin’s agility was their amazing teamwork. The Chasers had several passing maneuvers that they used to score as fast as possible. 

Sooyoung didn’t even want to try and learn them, insisting that she was a professional and knew best. She was a decent Chaser, but that was only because her broom was significantly faster than everyone else’s on the team. Jungeun was getting sick and tired of her arrogance.

During practice that morning when she zoomed across the pitch without even passing the Quaffle to anyone else, Jungeun snapped. She felt bad for yelling at Sooyoung in front of everyone, and her heart sank when she saw how sad Sooyoung got.

But the message seemed to get through because, after practice, Sooyoung pulled her aside and apologized profusely, promising that she’ll do better during the game tomorrow. Jungeun half-heartedly accepted her apology. Actions always spoke louder than words.

“Hey, Jungeun…”

Her angel, the one person who could never stress Jungeun out no matter what, called softly, placing her hand on Jungeun’s knee. Her eyebrows quirked up cutely as a small smile formed on her lips. “Still with me?”

“Of course, Sol,” Jungeun assured her, grabbing Jinsol’s hand on her knee and giving it a soft squeeze. Okay, that’s enough affection for today. She put her hand back in her lap and sighed. “I’m just stressed about the game tomorrow.”

Jungeun and Jinsol were sitting in a window sill on the fifth floor. They really shouldn’t be out this late. Well, it was late for Jungeun. She was normally in bed around this time. But she couldn’t say no to Jinsol pouting with her big puppy dog eyes, begging Jungeun to study with her. She would never say no to hanging out with Jinsol. 

Besides, most of her friends were busy doing other things. Yeojin was in detention for the second time that week. Chaewon and Hyejoo were off somewhere on the seventh floor. Heejin went to go see Hyunjin by the boathouse. Haseul, Jiwoo, and Yerim were patrolling the castle on prefect duty. And Sooyoung? Well, last Jungeun heard from some gossiping students that she was doing late-night workouts. Good for her.

“You’re going to be just fine, Jungeun,” Jinsol said assuringly. “I’m going to be rooting for you the entire time. I even made a cute lion hat! I’ll make sure to wear it tomorrow.”

Jungeun rolled her eyes playfully. “That might be distracting.”

“Mm, you like it when I distract you.”

Her cheeks flushed as Jinsol leaned in ever so slightly. “Don’t you have an essay for Care of Magical Creatures?” Jungeun asked, hoping to change the subject.

“Yes, I do. It sucks that I still have to do work,” Jinsol complained. “Champions are excused from final exams, but we’re not excused from NEWTs. I still have to do all this school work. Good thing I like writing about hippogriffs.”

“Hippogriffs?” Jungeun tilted her head to the side in curiosity. “We’re learning about those too in our class!”

“Professor Byun says we’ll be doing a special class next week. Perhaps we’re combining and meeting a hippogriff together?” Jinsol asked hopefully.

Jungeun loved the sound of that. She always wanted to be in a class with Jinsol and hated the fact that she rarely ever saw Jinsol out of free time when she was at Hogwarts a few years ago. “I really hope so,” she said honestly.

She thought she was totally distracted by Jinsol. And goodness, Jinsol was distracting with her pretty blonde hair and beautiful eyes and sharp jawline… but the stress of the Quidditch game would always come back around. “Gah,” she groaned. “I’m so stressed about tomorrow. Sooyoung’s playing for Gryff-”

“Sooyoung?” Jinsol asked suddenly. Her eyebrow perked up. “Wait, you don’t mean Yves!?”

“Yeah, Yves…”

“She’s playing for your team?” Jinsol frowned. “I thought of all the house teams, she’d go for Slytherin. After all, she’s a horrible, evil person anyway.”

“No, she-” Jungeun shook her head and scowled. “She said she wanted to join the Gryffindor team to get closer to me.”

“WHAT!? WHY!?”

Jungeun winced at Jinsol’s loud voice and held a finger up to her lips. “Shh. We’ll get caught by a prefect.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. Sooyoung’s been nothing but nice to me. Even if she’s sometimes full of herself and a little arrogant.”

“Stay away from her.”

“Huh?”

“You heard me,” Jinsol said sharply. “Stay away from her.”

She huffed loudly in disbelief. What the hell was Jinsol talking about? “You can’t just tell me who to hang out with and who not to. Just because _you_ have a problem with her doesn’t mean that I need to have a problem with her too.”

Jinsol stared at her silently as she ran a hand through her hair. Her expression softened, and she looked down at her feet. “I’m sorry, Jungeun. I just… I just don’t want you to forget about me since you’re befriending her.”

Jungeun couldn’t believe her ears. “Jinsol, why would I forget about you? You are one of the most important people to me. I would never, _ever_ let anything come between us.” She slid off the window sill and threw her arms around Jinsol, who quickly returned the hug, tightly wrapping her legs around Jungeun’s waist too. She was never one to hug first, especially when it came to Jinsol because she had feelings for her and was scared of showing affection, but this seemed like an appropriate time to hug her.

“I’m just worried that she’s going to mess up my chance with y-” Jinsol paused. “We’re close, right? Like close in a way that’s different from other people?”

“Yeah…”

Jinsol let out a soft sigh before pressing a gentle kiss to Jungeun’s cheek. “I’m not going to let some hotshot celebrity take my Jungie.”

“You’re cute. But are you implying that I’m yours?” Jungeun asked, heart skipping a beat as she wondered what Jinsol could mean. Did she still have feelings for Jungeun? She really hoped that was the case.

“Well, I mean, only if you-”

“Oooooh! I hear voices!” Jiwoo cried shrilly from down the hall. “I can’t wait to put some rulebreakers in detention!”

“Jiwoo, wait, can we sit down for a bit? I’m getting tired,” Haseul said. “Come sit on my lap, Jiwoo…”

“Oh! Okay! Yeah, I’ll do that!”

Jungeun and Jinsol broke their hug, knowing their time together had been cut short. “I’ll walk you back to the Gryffindor common room. I can’t get in trouble, but you can,” Jinsol whispered. “Um…” She smiled awkwardly. “Tonight was nice, Jungeun.”

“Yeah, uh, let’s do it again,” Jungeun laughed and scratched the back of her neck.

Jinsol beamed down at her and cupped her cheek. Jungeun’s breath hitched as she looked up at Jinsol in anticipation. She felt just like she did a few years ago when Jinsol was about to leave in the carriage. All she could do was look up at Jinsol helplessly, feeling so enchanted by more than just Jinsol’s Veela charm. “One last thing…”

 _Anything,_ Jungeun thought. She licked her lips in anticipation, waiting for Jinsol to make the next move.

“You have nice eyes,” Jinsol said quickly and blushed, leaning in to peck Jungeun’s cheek.

Jungeun blinked slowly, clearly not expecting that. “Um… thanks?”

“Haseul! We need to get back to work!”

“Just a few more minutes, Jiwoo?”

Jungeun sighed and grabbed Jinsol’s hand, letting Jinsol lead the way back to the Gryffindor common room. Her mind rushed with curiosity, wondering if Jinsol was just about to confess her feelings for her. She was probably just being nice to her. Jungeun and Jinsol were very close, and Jinsol could be threatened by someone coming in and taking Jinsol’s place as her closest friend. 

But nobody could replace the years of writing and pining after the girl, she just was scared to take the first step into unknown territory with her oh-so overwhelming feelings.

Friends or lovers, Jinsol always made Jungeun happy.

* * *

It was pouring during the Quidditch game. Poor Jungeun could barely see more than a few feet in front of her and had to rely on Yerim’s commentating to get through the game. She held a hand over her face as she looked in the direction of the upper stands. She could barely see them, but there her friends were, decked out in red and gold except for Chaewon in green and silver, cheering them on louder than the pouring rain. Hyunjin had a sign with bright, shining gold letters that said: _“LET’S GO, JEON HEEJIN!”_ Jinsol, of course, as promised had her cute lion hat on.

_“Slytherin in possession of the Quaffle. They’re heading towards the goals in a triangular formation. Will we see another split lip save from Kim Lip?”_

Jungeun rolled her eyes. Slytherin always tried to attempt this, but Jungeun had gotten better at predicting where they would throw the Quaffle, so she would intercept the Quaffle just in time. She gripped her broom as the outlines of the three players came in her field of vision.

Suddenly, a red blur swooped by and took the Quaffle from Slytherin before speeding off in the direction of the Slytherin goal.

 _“And it’s a steal from a Quidditch all-star playing for Gryffindor, Yves! Wow, look at how fast she goes with her Firebolt Supreme,”_ Yerim’s voice boomed across the pitch. _“Before Yves, the fastest broom on the pitch was a Nimbus 2015 flown by Jeon Heejin! And.. she scores! Gryffindor leads 100-30.”_

Jungeun pumped her fist in the air. “Yes! Good job, Sooyoung!” she called, watching as the girl zoomed over to her with a big smile. It was kind of cute. _She_ was kind of cute. Whenever Sooyoung scored, she would fly over to Jungeun and give her a big smile. And Jungeun couldn’t help but smile back at her when she saw her. Just like Jungeun, Sooyoung was drenched. Long hair tied up in a low ponytail, but there were a few strands in her face.

“Hey, wait, there’s some hair in your face!” Jungeun yelled.

“Oh, yeah? Can you get it quick?” Sooyoung asked, stopping her broom suddenly.

Jungeun checked to make sure the Quaffle was in good hands. Good, Gryffindor had the Quaffle. She flew over to Sooyoung and reached over to tuck her hair behind Sooyoung’s ear. “You know… I’m sure you’re perfectly capable of doing this yourself.”

“Maybe I want your hands all over me?”

“This is a Quidditch match…”

“Such a mood kill- Look out!” Sooyoung grabbed Jungeun suddenly and pulled her towards her. Jungeun screamed and nearly fell off her broom but managed to stay on by clinging on to Sooyoung for dear life. She whimpered and buried her head into Sooyoung’s shoulder, unsure what had just happened, but she was sure that she almost just died.

_“Oof. What a nice dodge from Son Hyejoo’s bludger by Kim Lip and Yves. Although, it looks like Kim Lip is about to fall off her broom. Thankfully, Yves seems to be holding her up with her big, strong arms. Man, I would kill to be in Lip’s position right now.”_

“HYEJOO! I’M GOING TO BEAT YOUR ASS WITH MY BAT!” Yeojin screamed at the top of her lungs, flying at Hyejoo at full speed.

“THEY WERE BEING GROSS!” Hyejoo screamed back before zooming away from Yeojin as fast as she could.

_“I… I have no idea what’s going on. I think Im Yeojin is chasing Son Hyejoo with a Beater bat. Kim Lip is still about to fall off her broom… I have never seen anything like this in my short time of being a Quidditch commentator.”_

Jungeun wobbled slightly and adjusted herself to try and get back on the broom. “Sooyoung, can you help me back on my broom?” she asked softly. Sooyoung nodded and held the broom in place while Jungeun fixed her balance. Once she was confidently on her broom, she let go of Sooyoung and chuckled nervously. “Um, thank you.”

Sooyoung laughed and winked. She squeezed her shoulder gently. “No sweat, Jungeun.” With one last smile, she took off into the rain to join back into the game.

Jungeun sighed as she watched Sooyoung fly off into the rain and returned to her position at the goalposts. She felt a little embarrassed because she almost fell off her broom in front of Sooyoung. That would probably be worse than having a bloody nose in front of her, but Sooyoung didn’t seem to mind at all. However, she was curious about Jinsol’s reaction to what went down considering the girl had vocalized her discomfort with Sooyoung and Jungeun together last night. Maybe because it was raining too hard, she could only rely on Yerim’s commentating. Hopefully, she wouldn’t take Sooyoung trying to help her not plummet to her death as something else.

_“Jeon Heejin and Lee Donghyuck in hot pursuit of the snitch. It’s neck and neck! Whoever catches the snitch will win the game- Oh, that’s another ten points for Gryffindor, thanks to Yves! But wait… what is she doing?”_

Jungeun frowned and furrowed her brows in confusion.

_“Oh, this is new… It seems like Yves is going to break one of the most important Quidditch rules? She’s going after the snitch! She’s not a seeker!”_

She swore loudly. “Sooyoung! No! Get your ass back down here,” she barked. She was afraid something like this would happen. Sooyoung would get too impatient because of all these Quidditch amateurs and decide to get the snitch for herself. This foul would automatically give Slytherin the win. Fuck, she needed to call a time out.

_“Hold on.. I’m zooming in my Omnioculars. Heejin and Yves are both about to catch the snitch.”_

Jungeun grasped a fistful of her hair desperately. “C’mon, Heejin…” she muttered.

_“Heejin just pushed Yves out of the way! And she catches the snitch! Gryffindor wins! 260-30!”_

The heavy sigh of relief that Jungeun let out after the fact was liberating. Jungeun flew to the ground and dismounted her broom, motioning for her team to huddle up. Yeojin nearly tripped when she hit the ground and stumbled over to the group. But even though Yeojin had exhibited very reckless behavior during the game, it wasn’t nearly as damning as Sooyoung’s behavior. As she watched Sooyoung descend and then dismount, Jungeun didn’t even try to hide her anger.

“Ha Sooyoung, I should kill you!” Jungeun screamed. She marched over to her and shoved her roughly.

Before Jungeun could shove her again, Sooyoung grabbed her wrists and held them in place. “What’s your problem? We won the game!”

“Why did you decide to go after the snitch?” she seethed, glaring at Sooyoung angrily.

“I wanted to show off…” Sooyoung mumbled. “To show you how talented of a Quidditch player I am.”

Heejin laughed bitterly as she hit the ground. “Of course, you did, fucking show-off. If you’re trying to get Jungeun’s attention, you won’t do it by being a dirty cheat.”

Sooyoung scowled. “I’m not a dirty cheat! Okay, maybe my intentions were a little misguided, but Jungeun, I really just wanted you to be proud of me-”

“Sooyoung,” Jungeun sighed sadly, distress evident in her features. “Don’t _ever_ do anything like that again. In Bulgaria, you might be a hotshot Seeker, but at Hogwarts, you are a Gryffindor Chaser. You will _play_ by the rules whether you like it or not. Am I clear?”

She was silent at first and gave Jungeun one of the saddest looks she had ever seen. Jungeun almost felt bad for snapping at her and wanted to wrap her arms around her and apologize. But the rational part of her mind reminded her that she had to be assertive. If Sooyoung wanted to be her friend, she had to respect her. Hell, she had to respect Jinsol too, but that was a conversation that she knew wasn’t appropriate to have right now.

“I’ll make it up to you, Jungeun. I’m sorry,” Sooyoung mumbled, squeezing Jungeun’s wrists. “The little village near Hogwarts… what’s it called? Hogsmeade? Let me take you out during the visit coming up soon.”

“Are you seriously asking me out on a date after what you just pulled?” Jungeun seethed.

The celebrity’s cheeks turned red. “A date? Ah, no, I mean, if you want it to be-”

“I’m sorry,” she replied. “Let me be, Sooyoung.”

“Jungeun, wait-”

Jungeun spun on her heels and stormed off to exit the pitch. She needed a hot shower and warm hugs and fast. “The more I learn about Yves, the more I question what’s so great about her,” she heard Hyejoo say quietly to Yeojin as she brushed past them. And honestly? Jungeun had to agree with her there. She was arrogant and so, so selfish, but Jungeun saw sides of her that were soft and made her heart swell. She just wished Sooyoung would be consistent with her because she wanted to feel like she was getting to know the real Sooyoung instead of some celebrity.

Just as she was about to enter the locker room, she was intercepted by Jinsol’s warm arms. Even if they were both soaking wet, Jungeun already felt a lot more comfortable in Jinsol’s embrace. “What’s wrong, Jungeun?” she whispered.

“Sooyoung… She’s so irritating,” Jungeun mumbled. “I don’t understand why she has to act like she’s the best at everything. I just want her to be… to be herself.”

Jinsol nodded sympathetically. “I know what you mean, darling. Her attitude is off-putting.” Jungeun couldn’t help but shudder. Not because she was cold but how sweet Jinsol was being with her. It was getting harder and harder to act like she didn’t want Jinsol’s affection when that was all she craved lately. “Do you want to go back to the castle? Let me go warm you up.”

“Okay,” Jungeun mumbled.

Jinsol kept her arms wrapped around Jungeun and led her away from the pitch. 

Both of them were oblivious of Sooyoung who had been watching this exchange the entire time and silently taking notes. Maybe her problem lay in how she always seemed to show off. Jinsol was much more successful in getting Jungeun’s attention and affection by making her feel special. Sooyoung could outdo Jinsol easily because she was the best at everything, and becoming adept at making Kim Jungeun swoon was something she definitely could see herself pulling off. All she had to do was wait for the perfect opportunity to set her plan in motion. She would make Jungeun thrilled to be around her to the point where she would go to Sooyoung over Jinsol.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooyoung has already messed up but is planning to bounce back stronger than ever. next chapters will be the first task! it'll be split between two chapters with hogsmeade and build up/preparation for the task in the first part, and the task itself and the aftermath in the next chapter. stay tuned. :)
> 
> twitter:  
> @hyeiipves  
> curious cat:  
> curiouscat.me/hyeslipse


	5. FOUR: PRIDE

Jungeun loved going to Hogsmeade. Back when she was a third year, those trips were the only things Jungeun actually looked forward to besides Quidditch games. She remembered her first trip clearly. Jiwoo pulling Heejin and Jungeun down High Street in pure excitement while Chaewon lagged behind the group, vocalizing how much she missed Hyejoo. Haseul had bought her so much candy “just because she felt like it.” Yeah, Jungeun should’ve realized then that Haseul had a big crush on her.

When Jungeun and Jinsol used to go to Hogsmeade together, it was pure magic. Jinsol held Jungeun’s hand tightly as they walked down the street together and window shopped. Jungeun wasn’t much of a shopper, but Jinsol loved looking at things and buying them, even if it was pure junk. Jungeun wondered where Jinsol even put all those fancy quills that she bought from the Quill Shop.

Today was no different for Jungeun, and she was beyond thrilled to be in Hogsmeade. Jinsol, Jungeun, Jiwoo, Haseul, Heejin, and Hyunjin sat together at a table in the corner of the Three Broomsticks. It was Hyunjin’s first visit to Hogsmeade, and she was very fascinated by everything. After lunch, they decided that the group would split off and do their own thing. Heejin would show Hyunjin around town. Jiwoo and Haseul wanted to go to Dervish and Banges because Haseul needed some things to help prepare for the First Task. Jungeun wanted to take Jinsol to Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop for some “alone time”. Totally not a date.

“Y’all got Big Smoke’s order?” Yeojin asked loudly.

“I told you I have no idea what Big Smoke is!” the waitress growled in annoyance.

Hyejoo, Chaewon, and Yerim laughed loudly at Yeojin’s antics.

“What do you guys think you’ll be getting?” Heejin asked.

“I think I’ll get some firewhiskey,” Jinsol said excitedly. “Ah, I love being of age.”

Haseul grinned and fist-bumped Jinsol. “Oh, me too! Another reason why being seventeen is the best. I’ll get one too.”

Jungeun rolled her eyes at Jinsol and Haseul. So arrogant and full of themselves. Once Jungeun turned seventeen in February, it was over for the rest of them. “I think I’ll have a butterbeer. Can never go wrong with the classics, and at least  _ one  _ of us has to be sober,” she said with a pointed glare at Jinsol and Haseul.

“Facts,” Heejin laughed. “Butterbeer is the way to go.

“I think I’ll have a butterbeer too,” Hyunjin said. “I heard it’s good here from Heejin. I remember she sent me a full letter describing the exact taste of it. I had it framed in my dorm room, and I brought it with me. It’s in my cabin on the Durmstrang ship.”

“I’ll have a cherry syrup soda!” Jiwoo giggled. “Can we get chicken strips too for all of us to share? Or a roast chicken? I’m craving chicken.”

“Damn, I hope you’re paying,” Jungeun chuckled. “What do you guys think about chicken?”

“Yes!” Everyone vocalized their agreement, and Jungeun waved her hand to try and get the waitress over to them. Unfortunately, she was all the way across the room talking to a woman in a fur cloak. Drats. They would have to wait a bit to get food and drinks.

She yawned and leaned her head on Jinsol’s shoulder. “So, about the Quidditch game last weekend… Ravenclaw flattened Hufflepuff, huh?” Jungeun said to change the subject. The group muttered their agreement, and Jinsol leaned her head to rest her head on top of Jungeun’s. She swallowed the lump in her throat and quickly moved her head away.

Jinsol looked at her in concern. “Jungeun, are you okay?”

“I- uh-” Jungeun smiled nervously and tucked a bit of her hair behind her ear. “Yeah, sorry, you scared me.”

“Because I’m so pretty?”

Jungeun nearly choked on her own breath. She knew her face was definitely redder than a tomato. She nodded. “Ah, in your dreams… Jung.”

“Cute,” Jinsol whispered.

“Alright… I have three butterbeers, two firewhiskeys, a cherry syrup soda, and a roast chicken.”

The table’s conversation halted as the waitress put their exact order on the table. Jungeun’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. She didn’t remember any of them giving the waitress their order. Maybe it was a poisoning? Her Auror-wannabe senses kicked in, and she started sniffing the drinks to try to see if she could find anything.

Jiwoo’s nose scrunched up in pure confusion. She tapped Jungeun’s shoulder and frowned. “Jungie, what are you doing?”

“I just think this is all strange. We didn’t order, right?” Jungeun asked.

“No, we didn’t,” Hyunjin confirmed.

Heejin furrowed her brows and glanced around at her friends. “Weird…”

“That’s because the young lady over there ordered it for you.” The waitress pointed to the girl Jungeun was looking at earlier with the fur cloak. “She’s paying for it too. You guys must be extra special.” Jungeun raised a quizzical eyebrow as she stared at the girl. The girl finally looked up from her copy of  _ The Daily Prophet  _ and smiled brightly at her.

She could recognize that soft, bunny teeth smile from anywhere. That was Sooyoung.

Jungeun held her gaze for a little bit longer before looking down at her feet.  _ Damn it, I should’ve known she would do something like this,  _ she thought.  _ She did say she would try and make it up to me. _

“What’s wrong?” Jinsol whispered in her ear.

Jungeun sighed and scratched the back of her neck. “I think I know who bought us our stuff.”

“Who?”

“Sooyoung.”

Jinsol stiffened, blonde hair bouncing as she whipped her head to look across the inn. “Sooyoung!? But I thought I- I thought I made it clear that she needs to stay far away from you.”

“What do you mean…?”

The blonde let out a soft sigh. “Well, in Defense Against the Dark Arts on Thursday, I pulled Sooyoung aside. I told her that she needed to start respecting you or she can kiss being your friend goodbye. I told her all about what you said to me. And god, she is so infuriating! You know what she said? Do you wanna know what she said?” She scoffed and whipped her head around to glare at Sooyoung, who was now watching them intently. “She said, ‘You know how I said you’re much prettier when you keep your mouth shut? You’re hot when you’re yelling at me too.’” She snarled at Sooyoung, who grinned at her and blew her a kiss. “Ugh! She’s so awful!”

“If you got to know her, you might realize she’s actually pretty nice,” Jungeun said.

“Yeah? No way. We’re supposed to be rivals. We’re competing against each other in the tournament!”

Jungeun shrugged. “Okay, but you and Haseul aren’t bitter rivals, right?”

“Haseul isn’t a threat to me. Sooyoung is.”

Jungeun gasped and covered her mouth. Why would Jinsol care? Gosh, this conversation was really driving Jungeun crazy, and it certainly didn’t help that Sooyoung seemed to be staring at them. She was so embarrassed and really wanted to straight-up ask Jinsol if she actually had feelings for her. But to throw something so heavy at her when the First Task was on Tuesday? No way. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she reached over and grabbed her tankard of butterbeer. “Right. Okay, then.”

* * *

In Jungeun’s opinion, Jung Jinsol didn’t have any flaws. But if she had to say that Jung Jinsol had one flaw, it would be her extreme irritation of Ha Sooyoung. It had been an hour since they left the Three Broomsticks, and yet Jinsol couldn’t stop complaining about her. Maybe if she kissed her she would shut up, but Jungeun was nowhere near brave enough to do something like that.

In fact, holding her hand now made her heart beat a mile a minute.  _ Please don’t let my hand get too sweaty, please,  _ she begged internally.

Jinsol whined as the ice-cold wind hit them head-on. She clung to Jungeun’s side and whimpered dangerously close to her ear. Jungeun remembered this from a few years ago. A girl used to Southern France did not expect the winters up north to be harsher than she thought. Jinsol had no clothing warm enough to endure the snowstorms and heavy winds. One of Jungeun’s fondest memories of Jinsol was when she saw Jinsol coming down the stairs in Chaewon’s big puffy coat and three Ravenclaw scarves wrapped around her. She wanted to kiss her then, just like she wanted to kiss her now. To be fair, Jungeun always wanted to kiss Jinsol.

“Cold?” Jungeun asked gently, warm breath hitting Jinsol’s cheek.

The older girl meekly nodded and shuddered.

She took off her Gryffindor scarf and offered it to her. “Here, wear this,” she suggested, knowing that Jinsol would feel a lot better once she wore it. Jungeun would willingly sacrifice her own warmth to make Jinsol happy.

“No, I shouldn’t!” Jinsol shook her head. “I don’t want you to get cold too.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m a lot more durable than you.”

Jinsol pouted, reluctantly taking the scarf from Jungeun. “Okay, fine.” She wrapped the scarf around her neck and leaned in. “Thanks for being the best, Jungie.”

Poor Jungeun made the mistake of turning her head just as Jinsol had leaned in. Their lips almost met, and Jungeun jumped back in shock. Eyes widening in fear, she scratched the back of her neck. “Um, I, s-sorry,” she stammered.

“Don’t want to kiss me, Jungeun?” Jinsol asked cutely, tilting her head to the side. How could she seem so unaffected by that awkward moment? “It’s been a few years. Remember the Quidditch game?”

“Shut. Up,” Jungeun hissed as her cheeks burned hotly.

“You’ll feel so much better once you finally give in to me. You know you want to,” Jinsol husked, clearly teasing her now.

She needed a distraction and fast. Scanning the area nearby for any sort of distraction, Jungeun’s gaze rested on a nearby clothing shop. A fake childish gasp escaped her lips as she grabbed Jinsol’s wrist and trudged across the street to the shop. “Wow, I like these red dress robes,” Jungeun said as she stopped in front of Gladrags Wizardwear. “But 20 galleons is a lot considering I can’t tell what they’re made of,” she continued, squinting to try and see what fabric the robes were made of.

“I’ll buy them for you,” Jinsol said without a second thought.

Jungeun turned around and raised a brow. “Sol? You don’t have to do that. I can’t ask you to do that.”

“No. I insist. Let’s go in right now,” the blonde continued. 

She grabbed Jungeun’s hand and led her towards the door of the clothing shop, but Jungeun refused to budge and planted her feet deep in the snow. “No, Jinsol. I’ll be fine without dress robes. If I really need them, I’ll just send a letter to my mother.”

Jinsol let out an exasperated sigh. “Jungeun, why can’t I just do this one thing for you?” 

“Because I would feel bad about you getting it for me…”

“It’s a gift!”

“I don’t need a gift, Jinsol. Please.”

Her eyes narrowed and lip curled upwards before she said slowly, “I bet you would let Sooyoung buy these dress robes for you.”

The statement caught her off guard. Oh, great, now they were back to talking about Sooyoung again. “Why do you care so much about Sooyoung?” Jungeun barked.

“Yeah, why do you care so much about me, Jung?”

Jungeun’s eyes widened as she whipped her head around. Geez, this girl was everywhere! Sooyoung stood a good few feet away from them with an annoyed expression and her hands on her hips. The irrational part of her mind couldn’t help but think that she was extremely attractive with that scowl and look that could cut Jinsol in half. The rational part of her mind reminded her that she was supposed to be angry at Sooyoung for being an arrogant asshat. But  _ god  _ was she the hottest, arrogant asshat Jungeun had ever met.

The blonde whipped her wand out and glared at Sooyoung. “Were you following us, creep?”

“Yeah. You looked cold, so I thought I’d offer you my cloak,” Sooyoung offered, clearly unfazed by Jinsok’s wand. She took off her fur cloak, revealing the knit red turtleneck she was wearing. She held it out to Jinsol and gave her a tight-lipped smile. “Here.”

“How do I know you haven’t put itching powder in this? I wouldn’t put it past you since you made Jungeun’s nose bleed,” Jinsol sneered, shoving the cloak back into Sooyoung’s arms.

Sooyoung laughed darkly. “Do you really think I would be walking around with an itching powder-seasoned cloak just for you? Oh, sweetheart, I think you’re pretty, but I’m not going to go through all that effort for you.”

“That’s… that’s a back-handed compliment, isn’t it?” Jinsol scowled.

“Hey, guys… you know I’m still here right?”

Sooyoung and Jinsol turned to look at Jungeun, blinked, and turned back to their arguing.

“Oh? First time someone isn’t totally kissing your ass? Poor baby,” Sooyoung sneered.

Jinsol bit her lip, nostrils flaring up in disgust. “Don’t you talk to me about kissing ass, Yves. Your whole brand is having a bunch of teenage girls kiss your ass.”

Sooyoung raised a brow. “Do you really think that everybody likes me?”

“Well, no, because I don’t like you.”

Pain briefly flashed across Sooyoung’s face, but she quickly hid it and gave Jinsol a blank look. “Well… then… I don’t understand why you don’t like me.”

“Are you stupid!?” Jinsol exclaimed. “You’re arrogant, full of yourself, and just expect everybody to kiss your feet because you’re Yves. Jungeun can’t see that because she’s too blinded by your wicked charm. I’m trying to protect her. Just by being here, you’re meddling in things that shouldn’t be touched! She’s too good for you.”

Jungeun grit her teeth, getting really tired of watching them argue. “Jinsol, I don’t want you dictating who you think I should hang out with or talk to. If you really feel this way about Sooyoung, why do you feel so threatened by her?” she asked, pleading for Jinsol’s reasoning.

“I’m not threatened by Sooyoung!” Jinsol shot back.

Sooyoung crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, for the record, I don’t like you either.”

_ Well, no shit!  _ Jungeun wanted to say, but she chose to keep her mouth shut, especially given how furious Jinsol looked now.

“Why don’t you like me? What have I ever done to make you hate me?”

“Your blatantly misguided assumptions about me,” Sooyoung answered. She took a step forward, eyeing Jinsol with clear contempt in her gaze. _ “The Daily Prophet  _ doesn’t report how I am criticized every single move I make. When I first joined the Bulgarian team, the Quidditch community all laughed at me and said I would never make it because of how young I was. When I caught the snitch, two years ago, I thought I finally proved them wrong. But do you know how much hate mail I got after the Quidditch World Cup? It wasn’t even  _ my  _ fault we lost yet the Quidditch community was quick to point out a fifteen year old’s flaws.”

Jungeun didn’t even know any of that. Those guys had no idea how talented Sooyoung was, how great she was. They had to be jealous. But she was starting to sound exactly like what Jinsol was accusing her of, being blindly charmed by Sooyoung.

“On top of all that crap that was piled onto me, I still never gave up and worked as hard as I could. All those fangirls around me? I don’t see them as annoying. Sure, they can be persistent, but at least they like me. All my hard work to stay on top was for people like them who actually liked me despite the shit I got. For people like Jungeun who chose to forgive me the first time I wronged her because she sees who I truly am and likes me for it,” Sooyoung continued.

Jinsol’s jaw clenched as Sooyoung took another step towards her. The celebrity carefully ran a hand through Jinsol’s vibrant blonde hair and looked into her eyes. “You have everything I ever wanted, and you don’t even appreciate it.”

“Huh? W-What does that mean?” Jinsol stuttered, cheeks heating up because of how close Sooyoung was to her.

“You’re a Veela. I can tell by your white-gold hair. Everybody loves you no matter what,” she said. “Me? I have to work to make people love me. All it takes for you is a beautiful smile and those gorgeous, sparkling eyes of yours.” Sooyoung cleared her throat, cheeks tinting in embarrassment from calling Jinsol beautiful and gorgeous. “I envy you, but I don’t envy your lack of self-awareness.”

_ “Flipendo!” _

Jungeun’s eyes widened in shock as Sooyoung flew backward and hit the snow. She looked at Jinsol, who was pointing her yew wand at Sooyoung on the ground. She was breathing heavily, pure malice in her eyes. She had  _ never  _ seen Jinsol like this which only made her conclude one thing. Her pride, like Sooyoung’s, was truly dangerous. This was why they hated each other. This was more than just a competing interest for Jungeun; they hated each other because they wanted what the other had.

Sooyoung groaned and reached into the pocket of her jeans to pull out her blackthorn wand.  _ “Locomotor-” _

“STOP!” Jungeun shrieked, blocking the path of Sooyoung and Jinsol. If either of them tried to cast another spell, they would hit her directly. “Both of you, stop it, please!” 

Sooyoung put her wand down, face immediately softening once she saw how scared Jungeun looked. Jinsol did the same.

“Jungeun, I-” they both started to say at the same time.

Jungeun shook her head and shuddered, knees buckling both because of the cold and because she couldn’t believe what had just gone down. “I want to go back to the castle,” she said softly. “Take me back, please?”

Sooyoung and Jinsol gave each other annoyed looks that seemed to say: “She wants both of us to take her?” Yes, that was exactly what Jungeun wanted. She couldn’t trust either of them to be left alone without her, nor did she want to go back with either of them to make them think she was picking sides in the argument. She wasn’t. This was their problem to figure out.

They walked back to the castle in silence, but it wasn’t exactly awkward. It was actually… kind of nice. As long as Jungeun stayed in between them, no fights would break out. After the long walk back to the castle and up the Grand Staircase to the Gryffindor common room. After saying the correct password, she turned back to look at Sooyoung and Jinsol. “Um, thanks for walking me back…” she said awkwardly.

“It was my pleasure,” Sooyoung said softly. “See you at practice, Jungeun?”

“Yeah,” Jungeun smiled. “Have a good day, Soo.”

“And uh… here’s your scarf back, Jungie,” Jinsol mumbled, unwrapping the scarf and giving it back to her. “Let’s meet up for breakfast?” She gave a side-eyed glance to Sooyoung. “Or lunch… if you prefer.”

“We can have lunch.”

“Right,” Jinsol said and then kissed Jungeun’s cheek. _ “À demain.” _

Her cheeks flushed as Jinsol kissed her cheek, and she couldn’t help but notice Sooyoung avert her gaze from the two of them.

She waved at the two girls one last time before closing the portrait behind her.

* * *

“Now, class, behind me is Hogwarts’s herd of hippogriffs. I decided to bring my sixth and seventh years together to show you all that not all dangerous beasts are totally dangerous. I happen to think hippogriffs are really cute! Now, can anyone tell me the proper way to approach a hippogriff?

Jungeun and Jiwoo looked at each other blankly. Chaewon snickered quietly next to them. Hyunji looked over Heejin’s shoulder and watched her sketch the herd with her quill. Sooyoung let out a soft yawn as she leaned against a tree close to Jungeun but far enough so Jinsol, who was on Jungeun’s left, wouldn’t complain too much. Haseul scratched her head in frustration as she flipped through her textbook. Jinsol was probably the only one in the class who actually knew the answer and was practically bouncing up and down while raising her hand.

“Ah, yes,” Professor Byun said, pointing to Jinsol. “Miss Jung?”

“Hippogriffs are very prideful creatures, so you have to treat them with respect! The proper way to approach a hippogriff is to bow slowly while making eye contact. Only when the hippogriff bows in return may you continue your approach, but note that the hippogriff prefers to make the first move, so wait until the hippogriff comes to you after the bows are complete.”

“Yes, exactly! Five points to Raven- Oh, wait, you’re not a Hogwarts student anymore,” Professor Byun said.

Chaewon giggled. “Professor, I don’t see anything wrong with us getting a few more house points! We’re tied for third with Hufflepuff.”

“Have no fear, I’ll get us more house points during the First Task,” Haseul said optimistically.

Sooyoung burst out laughing, causing the entire class to look at her. 

Professor Byun raised a brow. “Care to share what’s so funny, Miss Ha?”

“Nothing. Ignore me.”

“So annoying,” Jinsol muttered under her breath.

“In that case, Jinsol, I’ll buy all the Beauxbatons students some chocolate frogs,” he offered. Noticing the excited expression on Heejin’s face, he laughed and shook his head. “Not you, Miss Jeon. You’re still a Hogwarts student to me.”

Heejin grumbled in reply.

“Now, if we have time I’ll let you guys approach the hippogriffs, but out of all of you, I only trust Miss Jung and Miss Kim-”

“Which one?” Jiwoo asked.

“Hyunjin,” he said before continuing, “to actually approach the hippogriff properly.”

Jungeun couldn’t help but roll her eyes. The clear favoritism for the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students was insane. Haseul better win the First Task or she might go berserk.

The leaves crunched behind them, and Jungeun turned around. To her surprise, there was Vivi in dark purple Ministry of Magic robes and a timid look. She rarely ever saw Vivi at all. According to Haseul, the Ministry people only come to Hogwarts around important events involving the tournament. Otherwise, they returned back to the Ministry to do their work. Jungeun figured Vivi was here early because the First Task was tomorrow. But what was she doing at a Care of Magical Creatures class?

“Ah, Miss Wong, the unicorn’s best friend!” Professor Byun said excitedly. “I love to see former students back at Hogwarts.”

Haseul visibly tensed up as she watched her ex-girlfriend step forward.

“Hi, Professor Byun. It has been a while,” she said coolly. “Actually, I’m here for Jo Haseul. I need to discuss something related to the tournament with her.”

Sooyoung perked up when Vivi mentioned the tournament. “Oh? Should Jinsol and I come too?”

The look Vivi gave Sooyoung was deadly. “No. If I asked for you, I would’ve said so in the first place.” She looked over at Haseul and smiled at her softly. “Seul? Please?”

Haseul shrugged and put her books back into her bookbag. “Um, alright.” She looked over at Jungeun and Jiwoo, a cry for help clearly plastered on her face as she followed Vivi somewhere into the forest.

Jungeun tried to turn her attention back to the class, but she could see Jiwoo was freaking out out of the corner of her eye. She obviously was worried something was up, especially since Haseul’s ex had just pulled her away to a secluded area. She hated cutting class (that wasn’t Astronomy anyway), but when it came to her best friend, she would do anything for her. “Hey, Jiwooming, do you want to go follow them?”

“Duh,” she whispered, grabbing onto Jungeun’s hands, “let’s go.”

Oh, well, she could get the notes from Jinsol or Heejin. 

She and Jiwoo followed Haseul and Vivi further into the forest. Jiwoo was breathing heavily next to her, and Jungeun didn’t know what to say to ease her anxiety. She saw Haseul and Vivi stop at a clearing ahead. Jungeun squeezed Jiwoo’s hand tighter and led them behind a big tree with a large tree trunk so they could overhear the conversation.

“Is everything okay, Viv?” Haseul asked worryingly.

“No, it’s not. I’m so angry. To think this competition would be fair!” Vivi hissed angrily.

“What’s wrong?”

“Last night, Sunmi and Irene took Sooyoung and Jinsol to the Forbidden Forest at midnight. I was on guard duty then, but I didn’t see them come in.”

“I don’t see what this has to do with me? What’s so special about the Forbidden Forest?”

“Haseul,” Vivi sighed. “The Forbidden Forest is sheltering a big component of tomorrow’s task. They got to see it… even if they weren’t supposed to. I couldn’t just let them have an unfair advantage, especially when you could  _ die  _ from this!”

Haseul let out a soft sigh. “Viv… you know it takes a lot to kill me.”

“What about a Hungarian Horntail?” Vivi asked.

Jungeun heard Jiwoo let out a soft gasp. “Shh,” she shushed while covering Jiwoo’s mouth. The last thing they needed was to get caught.

“A Hungarian Horntail!?”

“Yeah, that’s the first task,” Vivi said. “All three of you will be facing a dangerous dragon at the same time.”

_ Dragons!?  _ Jungeun’s eyes widened.  _ So Jinsol and Sooyoung knew about this, and Jinsol decided not to tell Haseul. Jinsol normally would, so unless… _

Then, she figured it out. Jinsol probably didn’t tell Haseul because she planned on winning the First Task. Specifically, she planned on beating Sooyoung. With Haseul out of the way and not a threat, her immense knowledge of magical creatures would give her the upper hand. It was clever but cruel.

“Oh, no… how am I supposed to beat a dragon?” Haseul wailed.

“Shh, hey, hey,” Vivi said softly. Jungeun peeked her head around the tree to see Vivi had pulled Haseul into a hug. “You’re not going to have to kill it or anything. Just  _ survive.  _ I know you can do that.”

Haseul nodded. “Survive. Okay. I can do that.”

“My advice? Get the people you trust the most like Jungeun and Jiwoo… Let them help you figure out the task. Three heads are better than one.”

“Right. You’re right.”

“I always am.”

An awkward silence fell between them.

“Thank you, Vivi… for everything,” Haseul said softly.

“You’re welcome, Haseul,” Vivi said with a smile.

Then, Jungeun saw Vivi lean in, and Haseul quickly stopped her. “Wait, no, Vivi- I’m sorry. I can’t. I love you, but I can’t.”

Vivi sighed. “It’s okay… It’s someone else, isn’t it?”

Haseul didn’t answer.

Jiwoo bit Jungeun’s finger angrily. Jungeun whipped her head around to glare at her. “Will you quit it!? If you want to know if she likes you, you should stop fooling around,” she hissed.

“Mmm mmm mmm!” Jiwoo mumbled back in a sassy tone.

“It’s okay, Haseul,” Vivi said reassuringly. “I’m not upset.”

Haseul smiled weakly. “Cool, thanks…”

“Um… good luck tomorrow. I’ll be rooting for you!”

“Yeah. Let’s just hope I can survive a dragon.”

Jungeun and Jiwoo gave each other looks. She knew exactly what her best friend was thinking. There was no way they wouldn’t let Haseul go into the First Task unprepared. Jungeun was ready to stay up past her bedtime for it.

* * *

Eyes aching from staying up so late last night helping Haseul and legs sore from climbing up the mountain, Jungeun had finally reached the arena for the First Task. Classes had been canceled that afternoon for the task. Admittedly, Jungeun didn’t even go to morning classes because she didn’t end up sleeping until two in the morning. It was large, and she noticed a lot of students had already found their seats. Most of the good ones probably already had been taken.

Her gaze moved to the tent that was on the left side of the arena. Jinsol, Sooyoung, and Haseul were in there preparing for the task. She was tempted to ditch her friends and go and see her champion friends and wish them luck. Well, mostly, she wanted to see Jinsol and Sooyoung. She stopped in her tracks and let her friends go ahead. Heejin in her blue silk Beauxbatons uniform had her arm linked with Jiwoo who was decked out in yellow and black. Jungeun was wearing a “Support Jo Haseul!” pin, but she decided to leave it at that. Yerim had made those pins, and she was deathly afraid of being hexed by Hyejoo if she refused to wear them.

“Place your bets! Place your bets!” Yeojin shouted, weaving through the crowd with a box of galleons, sickles, and knuts. “Highest bets so far are for Yves and Jinsol! C’mon, give your Hogwarts champion more support! Or don’t because I’m betting a lot of money on Haseul!”

Jungeun shook her head and rolled her eyes, stepping out of the line of students filing into the arena and making her way to the tent.

“Yo, Lip! Where are you going?” Hyejoo called out, hand intertwined with Chaewon’s.

“Um, I’m going to pee! I’ll be back!”

“But there are bathrooms inside…?” Chaewon asked in disbelief.

Jungeun ignored her and pushed open the flap to the tent. There were three wings inside the tent for each champion. In the west wing with the Durmstrang crest on the wall, the curtain was pulled closed, and Jungeun could see three pairs of shoes inside. Hyunjin, Miss Sunmi, and Sooyoung were scheming, no doubt. In the Hogwarts wing, Haseul and Professor Taemin sat together on the bed discussing something quietly.

In the middle of the tent, Ryu Sera stood with her cameraman. When she spotted her, she gave Jungeun a weird look. “What’s a Hogwarts student doing here? Are you a friend of one of the champions?” Sera asked.

“Uh- I-”

“She’s with me!” Jinsol called out, beckoning Jungeun over to the Beauxbatons wing.

Jungeun smiled in relief as she quickly made her way over to her.

“Who is this?” Madame Bae asked suspiciously.

“She’s my best friend in the entire world,” Jinsol replied proudly. “Can I get some alone time with her, please?”

Madame Bae sighed, looking from Jinsol to Jungeun and back again. “Five minutes. That’s it. Then, we go over the plan again.”

“I understand, Madame Bae.” Once the headmistress had left the wing, Jinsol quickly closed the curtains and spun around to pull Jungeun into a hug. “I’m so happy you came to see me! It makes everything so much better.” As Jinsol pulled away, Jungeun got a better look at her outfit. She had had a fire-resistant puffed chest piece and navy blue and silver nylon jacket. Under the Beauxbatons crest on her right chest was “JUNG” embroidered in capital letters. Her hair was tied up into a high ponytail with a navy blue scrunchie.

Jungeun smiled bashfully as she reached down and grabbed her hands. “You look… nice. Ready for battle.”

Jinsol laughed. “You think so? If all goes well, I won’t be fighting any dragons. That poor thing probably has been in cages for weeks. All I need to do is get the egg and leave.”

“That simple? How do you already know the task?”

“Seokjin just explained it like five minutes ago! All three of us are going to go out at the same time. Our objective is to get the golden egg in the center of the arena that’s guarded by a Hungarian Horntail. Whoever gets the egg gets an additional ten points while the other five judges score how we dealt with the dragon… and each other,” Jinsol said. “Oh, yes! It’s fair game to attack your fellow champions as long as we don’t kill each other.”

Knowing Sooyoung and Jinsol, something was bound to go wrong. Maybe Haseul had the upper hand after all.

“Also getting the egg is important. There’s only one of them, and that egg contains the clue for the next task,” Jinsol whispered. “I really want to win.”

Jungeun smiled at her eagerness. “I believe in you, and I’m rooting for you. Why do you think I came here? To wish you luck! Just like you were so helpful to me during the Quidditch Final two years ago.”

“Oh?” Jinsol asked, a smirk forming on her lips. She looked down at her and chuckled. “Are you going to kiss me in celebration?”

Not this again! Jungeun flushed in embarrassment and hid her face. She was really starting to think that that so-called celebratory kiss was just an excuse for Jinsol to make a move on her. And Jungeun being the useless fifteen year old she was fell for it all those years ago. “No! Stop that! You’re just teasing me now.”

“What if I told you that I wanted it?” Jinsol husked, placing her hands on Jungeun’s hips. She pulled their bodies flush against each other, leaving Jungeun no room to escape. She was completely and totally trapped by her. Her poor heart was pounding like crazy, and all she wanted to do was run away. But unlike the Quidditch pitch, they were alone, and whatever happened in here wouldn’t leave their private area. 

“What if I die out there and the only way I’ll survive is if I get a kiss from my Jungie?”

“Jung Jinsol.”

“What?”

“I never want to hear you imply that you’re dying ever again. Understand?” Jungeun narrowed her eyes in annoyance. She cupped her cheek and looked up at her, thumb stroking over Jinsol’s soft cheeks. “...Do you really want me to kiss you?”

Jinsol didn’t even answer her. She just leaned in and closed the gap between them. This time, Jungeun was ready for it, and she kissed Jinsol back eagerly. It wasn’t too heated. It was a kiss reminiscent of two shy lovers getting to know each other after spending years apart, and that was Jinsol and Jungeun’s relationship. Friends but not quite friends, always on the tip of becoming something more. 

Fluttering her eyes shut, she pulled away and then opened her eyes again to be met with a beaming Jinsol. “I didn’t know how much I needed that again until it actually happened,” Jinsol muttered, wiping Jungeun’s lip gloss off with her thumb.

“Yeah…” Jungeun stuffed her hands in her robes’ pockets nervously.

“You feel the same way?” Jinsol asked.

“I mean it was just a celebratory kiss, right? Just for good luck?” she continued, immediately wishing she hadn’t said that because she definitely didn’t mean it. Better to be coy than made a fool in front of her.

Jinsol’s eyebrows furrowed, and she let out a dry laugh. “Don’t be ridiculous. You know that’s not true.”

Jungeun stiffened. Jinsol saw right through her. She always did. She knew her better than she knew herself.

“Listen, Jungeun, I think we need to talk… and soon,” Jinsol said. “We need to acknowledge the elephant in the room.”

Damn it! How did she know? Then again, Jinsol wasn’t exactly being obvious with her words either, or Jungeun was a dumbass. Probably both. She looked at Jinsol helplessly and sighed. There was no way she could keep these feelings bottled up for much longer. She knew that if she wasn’t a coward, she would admit her feelings to Jinsol and ask her out finally, but losing Jinsol scared her more than anything.

But why not couldn't she say it now? Why not when Jinsol came back and the second chance was right in front of her ready for her to take? What was holding her back?

“Champions! To the center of the tent, please!”

“Jinsol, I-” Jungeun started to say. She ached to say those three words.  _ I like you.  _ She knew about her feelings, why couldn’t she say it? Whatever was holding her back had a strong grip on her. So instead, she settled on saying, “I think you’re perfect.”

And Jinsol, the girl who’s so perfect, seemed to understand what Jungeun was saying without her actually saying it. With an overjoyed smile on her face, she threw her arms around Jungeun. “Thank you.”

“Good luck,” Jungeun whispered in her ear, pressing an encouraging kiss to her jawline. Her heart was beating so fast in frustration and pure adoration. She just wanted to be able to say it.  _ I like you.  _ Nope, nothing.

They pulled away, bashful smiles still plastered on their faces. “I, um, hope we can talk about it soon,” Jinsol mumbled.

Jungeun hoped so too because she was already internally cursing herself for being such a coward. Seriously, why couldn’t she get a grip?

The blonde walked to the other side of the wing. “Here, you can sneak out this way.” She opened the side flap of the tent. She lifted it up just enough so Jungeun could crawl out.

Jungeun gave her one last smile and crawled out of the tent. Soon, she would be watching her crush, her celebrity crush, and best friend duke it out against a dragon. Maybe that would distract her from the heavy aching in her heart. Sighing quietly, she made her way into the arena to find her friends and watch the task.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope i fed you well lipsoul and yvesoul nation. lipves you'll get your food next chapter along with the first task. who's excited? who do you think is gonna win?
> 
> translations:  
> à demain - see you tomorrow
> 
> twitter:  
> @hyeiipves  
> curious cat:  
> curiouscat.me/hyeslipse


	6. FIVE: THE FIRST TASK

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this took longer than expected bc i've been dealing with a lot of things personally. i also wanted to postpone posting a chapter in respect to the blm movement and what's been going on, but it's finally here so i hope you guys enjoy!!

The arena was set up like a wheel with three spokes. One champion per spoke, all leading to the middle where the Hungarian Horntail guarded her eggs. The golden egg in the middle of the nest beamed brightly in the sunset.

Jungeun had finally made her way to where her friends were sitting in the Hogwarts section of the viewing area. Heejin and Hyunjin were notably absent, probably forced to sit with their delegation. She tapped Jiwoo’s shoulder gently as she climbed into the seat next to her. “Has it started yet?”

“No! Where have you been?”

Jungeun subconsciously wiped a bit of smudged lip gloss off the corner of her lips.

“I should’ve known,” Jiwoo huffed.

A cannon fired into the air, signaling the start of the task. Jungeun turned her attention to the arena. So far, nobody had bothered to make a move towards the dragon. Haseul had her wand drawn and was shaking nervously while Sooyoung just stood there with her arms crossed over her chest.

Finally, Jinsol bravely took a few strides forward. “Hey, there, buddy, listen… I know we’re disturbing your nest, but that golden egg isn’t actually yours-”

The dragon turned to face Jinsol, nostrils flaring when she saw Jinsol approach. Jinsol stopped dead in her tracks. “I’m not going to hurt you, okay? Just trust me. I’m unarmed.”

“Ha! Dumbass!” Sooyoung cackled. “Do you really think that the dragon speaks English? I thought you were supposed to be a Care of Magical Creatures nerd.”

Jinsol growled, whipping her head around to glare at Sooyoung. “I’m showing that I’m not dangerous, you idiot!” she shouted. The loud noise seemed to spook the dragon, and she let out a loud cry before spewing flames at Jinsol. Jinsol was quick to react and quickly produced a stream of water out of her wand to extinguish the flames. 

Haseul broke out into a sprint while the dragon was distracted with Jinsol. The small girl ran as fast as she could and got halfway across the spoke before the dragon seemed to notice her out of the corner of her eye. She swung her spiked tail at Haseul, knocking her off the spoke.

“HASEUL, NO!” Jiwoo screamed in horror.

Jungeun squinted and sighed loudly in relief when she saw Haseul had managed to grab onto the ledge before she fell down. The Hufflepuff had a new problem: trying to climb back up onto the spoke without falling off when she didn’t have much of a grip on the rock.

The dragon’s fiery breath had subsided for now. Sooyoung took that as an opportunity to make her way forward. She walked briskly, wand drawn out. She seemed to be trying to aim at the dragon’s eyes. Jungeun remembered Jinsol telling her about this in a letter. A dragon’s weak point was their eyes, but given how much they move their heads, it was difficult for anyone to get a good aim at them. But surprising everyone, Sooyoung cast a spell at the dragon’s skin.

“What’s she doing?” Jungeun asked. “A dragon’s hide is resistant to spells… unless she’s… OH, GOD! JINSOL LOOK OUT-”

But it was too late, the spell bounced off the dragon’s hide and hit Jinsol in the eye. The scream she let out was painful and made Jungeun’s heart ache. Her right eye started swelling up menacingly, and she had to clutch her eye with one hand while she held her wand in front of her.

The dragon, irritated by Jinsol’s screaming, breathed fire at her again. This time, Jinsol didn’t seem to want to shoot water back at the dragon. No, she was hellbent on payback. She cast a shield charm and allowed the flames to deflect off of the shield and go right for Sooyoung.

Sooyoung let out a high-pitched scream and did her best to dodge the flames, but unfortunately, her hair had fallen victim to the flames. Jungeun had never seen hair burn on someone’s head before, and Sooyoung’s ends had become dancing flames. The poor girl looked as if she had been stabbed. She pointed her wand at her hair and wailed,  _ “Diffindo!”  _ Her beautiful, lovely hair was cut off, leaving Sooyoung with shoulder-length hair and her ends burning on the ground. “My hair!” she cried.

“Oof, that is rough,” Jiwoo mumbled. “That spell would only keep Jinsol’s eyes swelled up for a day, but burning her hair off? That’s  _ cold.” _

“JUSTICE FOR YVES’S HAIR!” Yeojin bellowed. A bunch of other Hogwarts students shouted the same in agreement.

“Nah! She looks better with short hair!” someone else countered. The arena roared in agreement.

“Seriously!?” Jinsol huffed. She turned to Sooyoung and gave her a sad smile. “Sooyoung, I didn’t think the flames would hit you.”

Sooyoung laughed bitterly before starting to sob again. “YEAH! That’s the problem! You don’t think!”

Jinsol opened her mouth to defend herself but decided against it when she saw how hard Sooyoung was crying over her hair that was now gone. “I’m sorry…” she pouted.

“Don’t pout at me! Don’t look at me! I’m mad at you, Jinsol! Your cuteness can’t change that!”

“Stop flirting with me!”

Out of the corner of her eye, Jungeun could see Haseul just managing to climb up onto her spoke. Amid all this chaos, she was able to get back up on her feet. As Haseul started to make her way towards the dragon, Jungeun could see that she was limping a little bit because of the fall.

The dragon was irritated by Jinsol and Sooyoung’s arguing and breathed flames again. They both noticed this and cast a shield charm at the same time, causing their shields to morph into one. The shield this time seemed to absorb the flames’ power.

“Hey, Jung,” Sooyoung croaked. “I won’t give you as hard of a time if you can help me knock her out.”

“Um…” Jinsol hesitated.

“Do you want your pretty hair to be cooked too?”

“No, I don’t!”

“Then help me, dumbass!”

Jinsol and Sooyoung made eye contact and then waved their wands. The force of the shield breaking sent them both flying back and hit the dragon hard too. She screeched loudly and wobbled, losing her balance. The dragon, just like Haseul, had fallen and was now clinging onto the side of two of the spokes to try and climb back up. Her claws didn’t have a good grip on the stone either.

Now with an even clearer opportunity for all of them to get the egg, they took off into a run. Haseul was ahead of Sooyoung and Jinsol, but they weren’t limping so they were catching up fast.

Haseul let out a shaky breath, pulling out her wand. “I didn’t want to do this, but…  _ Reducto!”  _ Chunks of the spokes in front of Sooyoung and Jinsol broke off, causing the two girls to come to a screeching halt. “Remember that this tournament isn’t just about you two,” she said coolly before continuing her fast limp towards the center.

“YEAH! HASEUL! GET ‘EM!” Jiwoo screamed. The Hogwarts section broke out into excited cheers as Haseul edged closer and closer to the center.

“Damn it! You’re good, Haseul. Didn’t expect you to play dirty,” Jinsol said with a giggle.  _ “Carpe Retractum!”  _ she shouted, pulling herself across the large gap created by Haseul.

Sooyoung did the same, spewing a few curses and cries as she looked back at the remnants of her hair.

Haseul was the first to enter the center with the eggs, but that also happened to be the time when the dragon finally got a grip and climbed back up. She stopped, wide-eyed in panic, and froze in her spot.

“Haseul, get the egg before it hurts you!” Jinsol screamed. 

Haseul’s eyes widened. “What!?”

“I don’t care about winning if it’s going to cream you!” she shouted. The dragon’s nostrils flared. Jinsol ran forward.  _ “Stupefy!”  _ she shouted. The dragon roared as the spell hit her in the eye, clambering on the side of the stones as the stunning spell took effect.

Haseul smiled warmly at Jinsol and made her way into the nest, grabbing the golden egg in the center. She held it up triumphantly, and the whole crowd roared in triumph.

“She won! She won!” Jungeun yelled in disbelief. “Fuck yeah, Haseul! That’s my fucking girl!”

“Oh, she won! I can’t believe it! Haseul won!” Jiwoo squealed in delight.

Dragonologists were quickly dispatched to put the dragon back to sleep. The champions were directed to the first aid tent. Someone needed to take a look at Haseul’s leg and Jinsol’s eye. Oh, and perhaps, Sooyoung’s hair, but why would anyone have a hairstylist dispatched for something like this?

Jungeun climbed out of her seat, but she was stopped by Jiwoo. “Where are you going?” she asked with wide eyes.

“I need to see if Jinsol is okay,” Jungeun said.

“No, sit down. You can’t sneak into the first aid tent just because your girlfriend is in there.”

“She’s not my-” Jungeun groaned. “Shut up.”

“Attention!” Professor Taemin said, magnifying his voice with his wand. “We will now be revealing the judges’ scores.”

Jungeun sat back down next to Jiwoo and took her best friend’s hand into hers. It was obvious Haseul had won. Even if Haseul didn’t have the additional ten points, she probably would’ve gotten second place. Haseul had a genuinely good performance despite nearly falling off the spoke. However, Jinsol’s bravery and combined spellwork with Sooyoung were bound to get Jinsol some points too.

The scores were revealed starting with Haseul and ending with Sooyoung:

**HASEUL**

Vivi: 10 Seokjin: 7 Taemin: 9 Sunmi: 4 Irene: 6 (+10) - 46

**JINSOL**

Vivi: 9 Seokjin: 8 Taemin: 8 Sunmi: 4 Irene: 10 - 39

**SOOYOUNG**

Vivi: 6 Seokjin: 6 Taemin: 7 Sunmi: 10 Irene: 4 - 32

Jungeun couldn’t help but laugh when she saw Vivi hold up the number 10 for Haseul. Conflict of interest? Definitely. Vivi wasn’t playing fair. It was hilarious that Sunmi consistently gave the other champions lower scores to try and rig the points, and Irene did the same in retaliation. Taemin was the only fair judge of the headmasters. She did notice, however, that if Haseul had not gotten the golden egg, Jinsol would have won. Overall, Jinsol had the highest combined judges score. To be fair, the bonus score of the egg was sort of pointless, but Jungeun’s opinion didn’t matter.

Sooyoung in last place. Jungeun’s heart wrenched, imagining how Sooyoung was feeling. She hated losing. And to get last place while being publicly humiliated like that, Jungeun wanted to go find her and hug her.

But thoughts of going to comfort the Quidditch player quickly disappeared when Jiwoo tapped on her shoulder. “Just so you know, Yeojin said to meet her in the seventh floor corridor if Haseul won. Just our friend group and Hyunjin. You should bring Jinsol.”

“It’s probably a party,” Jungeun said, “but why party in the seventh floor corridor?”

“No idea, but we’re supposed to be there by 7:30.”

Jungeun nodded, looking over at the first aid tent. She saw Sooyoung storming out of there angrily, covering her mouth and looking down. Jungeun felt a strong urge to go after her, but she figured Sooyoung needed to be alone first. She would ask Hyunjin later where to find her at the party.

She sighed softly rubbed her temples. Oh, how difficult it was to be thrilled for her friends while devastated for Sooyoung.

* * *

In the six years Jungeun had been at Hogwarts, she never once heard of the Room of Requirement. And now that she had found out about it, she wished that she had heard of it sooner. A room that shifted and changed to fit whatever you needed at the time? She could’ve spent so much more alone time with Jinsol or her friends from other houses. But Yeojin said the reason she didn’t tell anyone besides Yerim and Hyejoo was that otherwise Haseul or Jiwoo would know where she was when she tried to evade detention.

“So that’s why you randomly disappear when I’m chasing you down the seventh floor. You go in here,” Haseul said.

“Good luck trying to find me though. You can’t use the room when someone else is using it unless you’re using it for the same reason that I am.” And to defiantly finish off her smug statement, Yeojin blew a raspberry.

The room Yeojin thought of was decorated in black and yellow. Unfortunately, there was no way to summon food in the Room of Requirement, but Yerim managed to sneak down to the kitchens and bring up an abundance of Haseul’s favorite sweets. Despite how so against the rules this was, Haseul seemed delighted by the party.

She was still limping a bit on her leg, but the healer told her that she should be fine by tomorrow if she continued drinking the potion he gave her. Jinsol’s eye had almost stopped swelling, but she still wore an eyepatch just to be safe. Jungeun couldn’t help but find Jinsol a lot more attractive with that eye patch on.

“You’re staring too hard,” Jiwoo said to Jungeun.

Jungeun ignored her, choosing to watch Jinsol talk to Hyunjin across the room instead. How was this girl so pretty? Yes, she was half-Veela, but Jinsol was just on a whole other level of pretty. She wanted to kiss her again. Memories of the kiss they shared in the tent flashed through her mind and caused her lips to curve into a satisfied smile. 

Jinsol was perfect.

“I said… you’re staring too hard.”

Jungeun shoved Jiwoo’s shoulders. “Go talk to Haseul and let me be. I can stare at her if I want to.”

Jiwoo pouted. “She’s talking to Heejin and Yeojin right now. I don’t wanna bother her.”

“Then talk to Yerim? Or Chaewon? Or Hyejoo?”

Jiwoo just pointed at the large gold couch by the fireplace. Hyejoo was knocked out cold with Yerim and Chaewon both resting their heads on the Slytherin’s shoulders.  _ Cute,  _ Jungeun thought.

“So, really… you’re my only option,” Jiwoo said. “Don’t you wanna talk to me? I’m your best friend.”

“Do you think Sooyoung’s okay?” Jungeun blurted out, mind going back to the Durmstrang champion.

Jiwoo shrugged. “Physically? She’s perfectly fine besides the short hair. Mentally?” She exhaled and laughed nervously. “I don’t think so.”

A sigh left her lips as she ran a hand through her hair. “I feel like I should go find her, but I’m supposed to celebrate Haseul’s win and Jinsol’s almost win. I just feel… bad.”

“I know, Jungeun.”

Her gaze shifted back to Jinsol and Hyunjin. She wanted to go over there and ask Hyunjin where she would find Sooyoung, but she also didn’t want to interrupt their conversation. How pathetic of her.

Eventually, her hopes were answered in the form of Heejin bouncing over to Hyunjin and hugging her from behind. Jinsol stepped away from them and shook her head. “Unbelievable. Just say you don’t wanna talk to me anymore, Hyunjin.”

“I don’t want to talk to you anymore,” Hyunjin replied.

Jinsol burst out laughing. “Okay, good one.”

“That wasn’t a joke.”

The blonde pouted and sauntered over to Jungeun, clinging onto her arm and placing her head on Jungeun’s shoulder.

Jungeun smiled awkwardly and patted Jinsol’s head. “Hey, what’s up?”

“I missed you,” Jinsol mumbled into the girl’s ear.

“I missed you too… You were great out there by the way. Giving up the win for Haseul? How chivalrous of you.”

“If I tried to grab the egg for myself, Haseul would’ve been cooked,” Jinsol replied with a cute pout. “And you would’ve been mad, and I hate when you’re mad.”

Jungeun chuckled softly. “It’s a competition. I guess you’re supposed to play a little dirty to win, right?”

Jinsol’s face fell, and she loosened her grip on Jungeun’s arm. “Listen, Jungie, I didn’t mean to burn off Sooyoung’s hair. I really didn’t. I wanted to scare her not hurt her.”

“You should be apologizing to her, not me,” Jungeun merely replied. She wasn’t going to get directly involved in Sooyoung and Jinsol’s feud.

The blonde sighed and huffed. “Yeah, I know… I know.” She paused for a little bit and furrowed her brows. “Are you mad at me?”

Jungeun’s eyes widened, and she quickly turned to look at her worriedly. “Mad at you!?” she repeated in shock. She could  _ never  _ be mad at Jinsol. Blame how useless and stupidly crazy she was over her. “Why would I be mad at you for that?”

Relief washed over the older girl’s face. “Because you’re friends with Sooyoung? I understand I need to start respecting her more, but she also messed up my eye! I’m pretty sure it was on purpose!”

“You did push her ass into the snow…”

“Jungeun!”

“What? You want me to lie to you?” Jungeun asked seriously.

Jinsol looked at her in annoyance for a split second and then shook her head. “No, I don’t want you to lie to me.” She shrugged. “I’m just… ugh, can you go talk to her for me?”

Jungeun wanted to laugh. Jinsol asking her to go talk to Sooyoung? She had to be insane. At least Jungeun wouldn’t feel bad for leaving her behind to go talk to her. Her brows furrowed quizzically. “You’re asking me to go talk to Sooyoung? To go see if she’s okay?”

“Well, yeah,” Jinsol said. She tilted her head to the side. “I know you want to see her anyway, but you don’t want to leave me because you think I’ll get upset. I won’t.”

Another example of Jinsol knowing Jungeun better than she knew herself.

Jungeun exhaled. “Wow… I…”

“I’m just that awesome, huh?”

Jungeun really wanted to kiss her again. Not in front of all these people though, so she settled for doing something she rarely did anyway, she stood on her toes and kissed Jinsol’s cheek before pressing her forehead to the side of Jinsol’s head. “I won’t be long. If I’m not back later, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“I’m counting on it,” Jinsol said sweetly, cupping Jungeun’s cheek. “By the way, what I said in the tent earlier-”

“Yeah, I know,” Jungeun sighed. “We’ll talk. Soon.”

Jinsol’s smile grew. “Awesome.”

* * *

Hyunjin said that Sooyoung would probably be somewhere by the lake. Where? No idea. Jungeun knew there were multiple good spots to sit by if one wanted to blow off steam, a few of her favorites being in the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. But Sooyoung didn’t know the castle like Jungeun and other Hogwarts students did, so if she had to guess Sooyoung would be anywhere, she’d be near the Boathouse.

And she was right.

Jungeun had forgotten her coat in the Room of Requirement. Today was one of those rare days besides the weekend where Jungeun could walk around the castle without her uniform on. She hoped Jiwoo or Jinsol could pick it up or otherwise she would freeze to death. In fact, she was probably freezing to death now. Stupid Jungeun, always putting others before herself.

This was the first time Jungeun had seen Sooyoung without any color red on. She was wearing a dark black coat that seemed to reflect that she was in mourning. Of what? Her hair? That was sort of shallow. 

The older girl was aggressively throwing rocks into the lake like there was no tomorrow and muttering curse words under her breath. She was alone surprisingly. Where were all the fangirls coming to comfort her? Or was suddenly Sooyoung not so appealing anymore because she lost?

“Last place,” Sooyoung said with a dry laugh. “I’m Ha Sooyoung. I’m  _ Yves.  _ I don’t get last place.”

Jungeun shuddered as the cold wind hit her and stopped suddenly when she stepped in a pile of dry leaves that made a very loud noise.

Sooyoung stopped throwing rocks in the lake. “Go away,” she growled. “I don’t need your pity.”

Figures Sooyoung wanted to be alone, but Jungeun couldn’t  _ let  _ her. “It’s me,” she said in a desperate tone.

The celebrity’s breath hitched as she turned around to look at Jungeun. Her eyes were red and blotchy. It was obvious that she had been crying. She gave Jungeun a once-over and frowned. “You look cold. Why aren’t you wearing a coat?”

“I, uh, I forgot it,” Jungeun mumbled bashfully.

“Come here. Wear mine,” Sooyoung offered as she took her coat off, revealing a black turtleneck shirt. Geez, she really was acting like her loss was a death or something.

“No, no, I don’t need it,” she insisted, but her teeth chattering and her arms wrapped snugly around her torso said otherwise.

Sooyoung narrowed her eyes slightly and then opened her arms. Like a magnet, Jungeun felt drawn to her, and she slowly made her way into the taller girl’s arms. 

She wrapped the coat around both of them as Jungeun wrapped her arms around the girl’s waist. Sooyoung started to sniffle and looked away frantically.

“Are you crying?” Jungeun asked stupidly.

“No…” Sooyoung answered. “I’m not crying.”

Jungeun frowned and squeezed Sooyoung’s waist. “It’s okay if you want to cry. I’m not going to judge you.”

“I know,” she replied. “I thought you were Hyunjin. Nobody came to look for me after I lost. Miss Sunmi… I’d never seen her so disappointed in me. None of my classmates would even look at me. None of those fangirls who’ve been nice to me came looking for me. Hyunjin at least asked me if it was okay if she could go to a party with Heejin.”

“She’s a good friend,” Jungeun said with a soft smile.

Sooyoung scoffed and shook her head. “That’s not the point. You’re the only person that came to comfort me… and I- I’m so thankful.” She tightened her arms around Jungeun and rested her chin on her shoulder.

Poor Jungeun’s heart, pounding a mile a minute, never felt so comfortable in a hug that didn’t come from Jinsol. Maybe it was because she was cold, or maybe she was ignoring her aversion to human contact for just this moment.

“Jinsol’s worried about you too,” Jungeun informed her. She almost wanted to laugh when she felt Sooyoung tense in her embrace.

“Why?”

Jungeun snorted. “What do you mean why? Jinsol is a very caring person. She worries about everyone.”

“She burned my hair off.”

“You swelled her eye up.”

Sooyoung huffed. “Technicalities.” She sighed and ran a hand through her short hair. “Tell Jinsol I say thank you for worrying about me, but I’m fine. If she wants to help next time, she should throw the next task.”

“Sooyoung!”

“I’m joking, babe. I promise.”

Jungeun shuddered at the pet name and awkwardly cleared her throat. “Um… do you want to sit down?”

“Yeah, sure,” Sooyoung answered. She sat down near the shoreline and pulled Jungeun down with her, keeping her arms securely wrapped around the girl’s waist while she kept the coat draped over both of them. “I hope you don’t mind the hug. I’m just trying to keep you warm.”

She didn’t respond, but she definitely didn’t mind it at all.

“It’s pretty out here. There’s a lake at Durmstrang Institute. It’s usually too cold to swim, but during the beginning and the end of the year, it’s warm enough to actually swim for a little bit.”

Jungeun laughed. “Well, you can’t swim in this lake. There are grindylows.”

“The hell are grindylows?”

“Nasty monsters that will harass any swimmer that comes near them,” Jungeun said. “At least, I think they do. I can’t remember if they lurk near the surface or not.”

Sooyoung shuddered. “Well… I already went swimming here at least twice before. No wonder people kept giving me weird looks.”

Horror filled Jungeun’s features. “How did you… how did you not die?”

“It’s going to take more than some lake monster bastards to get rid of me, babygirl.”

The awkward scream that left Jungeun’s lips was quickly masked by a loud cough. Sooyoung smiled at her endearingly and hit her back half-heartedly as if she was supporting Jungeun’s stupid cover-up.

A comfortable silence fell between them. Jungeun was perfectly okay with that. She just wanted to be there for Sooyoung no matter what, and she hoped her presence was comforting for her. She smiled shyly and rested her head on Sooyoung’s shoulder, heart beating even faster when she felt Sooyoung rest her head on top of hers.

After a few more minutes of silence, Sooyoung finally spoke up. “Do you think I’ll be able to come back from this? I feel like the whole world is disappointed in me now.”

Jungeun shook her head. “No, definitely not the whole world, I’m not disappointed in you,” she informed her. “I think you did great today. All of you did. It’s hard for me to root for one person because all of the champions are people I know and care about-”

“You care about me?”

Jungeun laughed nervously, clearly taken aback. “Of course, I’ve been a fan of you for ages.”

“No… not just as a fan.” Sooyoung’s hand moved down to hold Jungeun’s. “Because I care about you more than just a fan.”

“So, like a friend?”

Sooyoung’s eyebrows knit in frustration. She scratched her head while chuckling quietly. “No, Jungeun. I swear you’re the densest person on the planet.”

Jungeun didn’t know how to respond to that. She had a point, but she was never going to admit it or agree with her. She just smiled sheepishly and shrugged her shoulders.

“Jungeun, are you sure you aren’t dating Jinsol?” Sooyoung asked while looking at her intensely.

A tricky question. Sure, Jungeun wanted to date Jinsol, but they weren’t dating at the moment. She didn’t feel like explaining the complicated relationship that involved Jungeun and Jinsol pining after each other, too scared to cross the boundary between friends and lovers. So, she kept it simple. “No, I’m not dating Jinsol.”

Sooyoung’s face lit up into a bright smile. “Good. So I can do this.”

“Do what exactly-”

She was silenced by Sooyoung’s lips meeting her own in a kiss that caught her completely off-guard. The shock left her quickly. This wasn’t the first time someone had kissed her without warning, and she was starting to get used to it. Her hand moved to cup Sooyoung’s cheek, and she kissed her back fervently.

Sooyoung deepened the kiss, hands moving to rest on Jungeun’s thighs. Jungeun’s eyes squeezed shut in disbelief. She couldn’t believe she was kissing her celebrity crush. She whined softly as Sooyoung slipped her tongue between her parted lips. She would have loved to continue to make out with Sooyoung, but she felt so vulnerable and guilty?

Yeah, guilty. Guilty, because she totally wanted this when she was so sure of her feelings for Jinsol earlier today. Yet here she was kissing Sooyoung without a care in the world.

Sooyoung pulled away and smiled brightly at her. “Thank you for tonight. I hope we can do this soon.”

“What? Kiss?” Jungeun sputtered.

She chuckled. “Well, yeah, if you want, but I meant spending time together alone… just the two of us. I crave being around you, Jungeun, and that just makes me want to be with you all the time.”

Jungeun’s heart was beating so fast she felt like she was going to throw it up. “M-Me too,” she stammered.

“Goodnight, Jungeun,” she said sweetly, boldly pressing her lips to Jungeun’s again before getting up and walking away.

Jungeun felt like she was going to faint. She covered her mouth while her breathing picked up, feeling totally panicked.

“Oh, God. Oh, no. Oh, shit,” Jungeun whined.

She had finally figured it out. 

The reason why she couldn’t tell Jinsol she liked her wasn’t because she was a useless coward.

It was because Jungeun liked Sooyoung too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in conclusion, lip is STUPID.
> 
> twitter:  
> @hyeiipves  
> curious cat:  
> curiouscat.me/hyeslipse


	7. SIX: THE IDEAL DATE(S)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y’all: GIVE ME YVESOUL KISS OR PERISH
> 
> me: damn ok its that serious

As December arrived at Hogwarts, so did the heaps of snow and heavy winds. Jungeun had to cancel Quidditch practice a lot more than she wanted to, but for the sake of her teammates, she knew she had to put their safety first. Although, she couldn’t say her teammates were very happy about her decision. Sooyoung was the most visibly upset, but she knew better than to question Jungeun’s authority. Not after last time, she nearly caused Jungeun to pull her own hair out.

End of the semester exams and essays piled onto Jungeun and her fellow sixth years. Her three champion friends were excused from these exams, but they had their own trial waiting for them: the second task. None of them had figured out what it would be about, and with Haseul holding onto the only clue, nobody would get anywhere unless Haseul figured the clue out first.

For some strange reason, students couldn’t go home for Christmas. Jungeun wasn’t sure if she was thrilled or disappointed. As much as she loved her family, they also got on her nerves. Her father, especially. She could do a Christmas without being bothered by his annoying antics.

“Look, Jungeun! It’s your family owl!” Jiwoo tapped Jungeun’s shoulder during breakfast on a Monday morning.

Jungeun squinted as she saw the old thing fly towards her, but her eyes widened when she saw a red envelope attached to the owl’s leg. “It’s a Howler,” she said, voice straining at the end.

“Ooooh, somebody’s in trouble,” Yeojin said mockingly.

Jungeun looked around the Great Hall worryingly. Over at the Hufflepuff table was Haseul and her friends Sana, Momo, and Rosé. She forgot how popular Haseul was, and ever since she won the first task a few weeks ago, her popularity had skyrocketed. 

Over at the Ravenclaw table was Chaewon joined by Hyejoo and a few of Chaewon’s Ravenclaw friends, Lia, Dahyun, Eunji, and Yoorim. She didn’t know much about them except that Eunji was close to Jiwon, a girl in Jungeun’s year and house. But she did know Yoorim, the freakishly tall Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain. Every time Yoorim had thrown the Quaffle into the goal, Jungeun freaked out because she threw it with such power, afraid that one day Yoorim would smash her face in next.

Jinsol and Heejin sat with the rest of the Beauxbatons delegation at the end of the table. She caught Jinsol’s eye and waved shyly, blushing when Jinsol blew her a kiss. No, they still hadn’t talked yet, and they definitely needed to. Jungeun just loved avoiding things.

At the Slytherin table, nothing much seemed to be going on. Just Jennie, still bitter from her loss, glaring at Jungeun, and a few Slytherin sixth years like Sihyeon, Chaeyoung, Yeji, Doyeon, and Tzuyu playing a game of Exploding Snap. Sooyoung was eating alone, much to Jungeun’s surprise. She sat a good few feet away from the rest of the Durmstrang delegation. Were they still mad at her for losing the task?

“Jungeun. Your letter,” Jiwoo said, pointing at the red envelope on her plate.

Jungeun swallowed the lump in her throat. “Oh, god…” She sighed and scratched her chin. “I know I’m going to have to book it as soon as this letter is read. Save me the embarrassment-”

“EVERYONE! KIM JUNGEUN HAS A HOWLER!” Yeojin shouted.

“What’s wrong with you!?” Jungeun hissed.

“There, now they’ll be ready for you.”

Jungeun could feel dozens of eyes on her as she opened up the envelope. She really hated Yeojin sometimes.

_“KIM JUNGEUN! WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN’T COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS? DO YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND? ARE YOU GOING HOME WITH SOMEONE ELSE? THAT’S A DULL EXCUSE IF YOU ASK ME! BY THE WAY, I’M NOT MAD! YOUR MOTHER AND I WILL MISS YOU VERY MUCH! I’M USING A HOWLER BECAUSE I WANT TO PLAY YOU A SONG I LEARNED ON MY BAGPIPES! YOU WANNA HEAR IT? OKAY! LET’S GO-”_

_“Incendio!”_ Jungeun said, setting the howler on fire. She sighed in relief when the envelope burst into flames and shriveled up into ash. She put her wand away and shook her head. “I hate my dad so much. He’s so weird.”

“I wanted to hear those bagpipes. I’m mildly disappointed,” Jiwoo said with a soft huff.

Jungeun glared at her best friend. “You’re not helping at all, Jiwoo. Not at all.”

“Hey, Kim!” Hyejoo shouted from the Ravenclaw table. “Your dad’s a total dope.”

“Yeah, no, shit,” Jungeun shot back. She figured it was time for her to go to class now because otherwise she’d be ridiculed by her classmates for the rest of the meal. She slung her book bag over her shoulder and sighed. “I’ll see you at Herbology, Jiwoo. I’m out of here.”

“Okay! Bye, Jungie!” Jiwoo waved. “Oh, wait! Don’t forget the Gryffindor House meeting after lunch.”

Jungeun paused and furrowed her brows. “There’s a house meeting?”

“Yeah! Professor Young told me to spread the word. Don’t be late. She said it’s very important.”

She nodded. “Sure. I’ll be there on time.”

On her way out of the Great Hall, she heard the sound of scuffling and bitter arguing. She turned to make her way out to the Entrance Courtyard when she heard that arguing get even louder. It sounded like two girls kept pushing each other.

“I’m going to comfort her.”

“No, I’m going to comfort her!”

Jungeun turned around, raising a brow when she saw Sooyoung and Jinsol shoving each other like two children fighting over a toy. She stopped and put her hands on her hips just to see how long it would take for them to notice her.

“I was her friend first,” Jinsol hissed.

“Well, I’m close to Jungeun too,” Sooyoung fired back, grabbing the girl’s wrists and pinning them above her head. “Can’t touch me now, Jung.”

Jinsol scowled and squirmed under her grip. “Let go of me, you charming, good-for-nothing, hot-”

“That sounds like compliments to me,” Sooyoung said with a grin before releasing the girl’s wrists. “Shower me with your affection.”

“Why you-”

“Admit that you think I’m pretty,” she husked in Jinsol’s ear. “Why do we have to fight all the time?”

Jinsol let out a noise that sounded a lot like a whimper. Jungeun had never seen Jinsol look so conflicted? Angry? Sooyoung definitely brought out a nasty side to her. “Because, for the millionth time, I want you far away from Jungeun. I can see right through your charms, Sooyoung. And I think you’re a-”

“Ahem,” Jungeun cleared her throat, catching the attention of both girls who jumped away from each other like they had touched a hot pot.

“Oh, Jungeun, we were-” Sooyoung started to say.

“We were just-”

“Are you guys going to walk me to class or what?” Jungeun asked. If she just ignored their fighting and forced them to get along, she wouldn’t have to worry about getting involved in their stupid, petty arguments.

Sooyoung and Jinsol gave each other weird looks before looking back at Jungeun. “Yeah, we are,” they said in unison.

Jungeun smiled in satisfaction and held her arms out for both girls to link their arms with her before starting the long walk to the greenhouses with her two favorite girls.

* * *

“Alright, alright. Settle down! Yeri, tuck in your shirt. Yuna, put that rubber chicken away! For goodness sake, Jiwoo and Jihyo, help me get everyone under control! Yeojin, I don’t like what you’re doing with all those Gobstones, and I am asking you kindly to _put_ it away,” Professor Young said sternly. “Sit with the people in your year. First through third years on the left, fourth through seventh years on the right. Let’s _go,_ children.”

Jungeun took a seat in the windowsill of the Gryffindor common room. Her fellow sixth years followed suit and sat near her. Yeri and Jiwon were the other two girls in Jungeun’s year, sharing a dorm with Jiwoo, Heejin, and herself. Well, Heejin hadn’t lived in their dorm room for almost a full year now. Jungeun wasn’t very close to either of them, but since they both had just joined the Quidditch team this year as Chasers, she figured she would make an effort to get closer to them.

“Wonder what this is about,” Jiwon whispered. “And where is Heejin?”

“Heejin is still a Beauxbatons student, technically,” Jungeun replied.

“I miss Heejin,” Yeri sighed. “She always kept us up way too late playing that guitar, and even a sleeping draught or a silencing spell couldn’t stop her. I bought earmuffs just to block her out.”

“Be quiet,” Jiwoo muttered. 

“So you may be wondering why you can’t go home for the holidays,” Professor Young started to explain. “Let me reiterate that first through third years _can_ go home for the holidays, but it is highly unrecommended for the sake of tradition. Although, you are not permitted to attend said tradition unless an older student asks you to accompany them. As for the rest of you, fourth years and above, you will be required to attend the Yule Ball.”

A chorus of gasps and groans erupted in the room. Many of the boys seemed visibly against this, while a lot of the younger students seemed upset that they couldn’t attend the Yule Ball.

“Professor, what exactly is the Yule Ball?” Jiwoo asked.

“It’s a tradition held during the Triwizard Tournament. It’s quite the spectacle, and it will be a night filled with dancing, music, and lots of food,” Professor Young said. “Since Hogwarts is hosting this year, I expect all of you to be on your best behavior. No pranks, no funny business, and you may certainly not sneak away from the ball for shenanigans. Do any of you know how to slow dance?”

Yeojin raised her hand and started jumping up and down. “Me! Me! Me!” When Professor Young looked at her, she hit the woah very slowly. “See? I danced slowly.”

“Im Yeojin, you think you’re so funny.”

“I think I’m hilarious, Professor.”

“Alright, I think I need to teach you all how to slow dance because if you’re anything like Yeojin, you are going to tarnish the reputation of Godric Gryffindor,” Professor Young said with an eye-roll. “I will not have my Gryffindor students bouncing about and flopping and doing the snakey leg. What the heck are those moves called?” 

Yuna and Yeojin, along with a bunch of other Muggle-born students burst out laughing at Professor Young.

“Jiwoo and Jungeun, come here,” she ordered.

Jungeun and Jiwoo gave each other bewildered looks, clearly not expecting to be called forward by the head of their house. “Us!?” they asked in unison.

Professor Young nodded. “Yes. You two. Come here now.”

Jungeun shrugged and grabbed her best friend’s arm, pulling them both to the center of the common room. She looked around nervously as their entire house looked at them in curiosity. Whatever Professor Young had planned, Jungeun was probably going to die from embarrassment.

“Jungeun, put your hand on Jiwoo’s waist.”

“Uh… what?”

“You heard me,” Professor Young said impatiently.

Jungeun swallowed the lump in her throat and put her hand on Jiwoo’s waist. 

This was so weird. She didn’t really want her to slow dance with Jiwoo in front of everyone, right? This was her best friend. She had never seen Jiwoo as anything more than a sister really. She had a strong desire to protect the girl, and she had been doing that since she was a first year. And because she had gone the extra mile to protect Jiwoo, she cost the opportunity of becoming a prefect. Well, it wasn’t like Heejin, Jiwon, or Yeri were great candidates either. Jiwon, possibly, but Professor Young always had a soft spot for Jiwoo and was very disappointed when Jiwoo couldn’t be in her NEWT level Transfiguration class.

“Now, Jiwoo, put one of your hands on Jungeun’s shoulder and then grab her hand.”

Jiwoo giggled quietly. “Professor, this is so weird but okay.” She grabbed Jungeun’s hand and then put her hand on Jungeun’s shoulder.

“Now, waltz. One two three… One two three… One two three…”

It took a few seconds, nervous giggling, and Jiwoo accidentally stepping on Jungeun’s feet several times before they eventually got the hang of it, and Jungeun was leading Jiwoo around the room in a smooth waltz. Professor Young watched with pride as the two girls danced. Jungeun smiled and spun Jiwoo before leading her into a dip.

“Weeee! This is fun!” Jiwoo squealed.

Soon, Professor Young had ushered students to find a partner and practice dancing. Jungeun had to admit this was a sort of sweet moment. Slow dancing with her best friend was unexpected but certainly not unwelcome. Now imagine dancing with someone much taller than Jiwoo… the thought alone made her heart pound.

A cold reminder that she had to find a date to the Yule Ball filled her, and the damndest thing about it was that she had no idea who she wanted to go with more. So she pushed those thoughts away and focused on the bright, smiling girl in front of her and twirled her around again. If it came down to it, she wouldn’t mind going to the Yule Ball with her best friend, but she would probably want to go with Haseul.

Jungeun had to laugh as she wondered how Haseul would handle the news of the Yule Ball. Would she finally get the courage to ask out Jiwoo? Only time would tell.

* * *

It was around mid-December, almost a month since the first task, and Haseul still hadn’t figured out the secret of the golden egg. She made the mistake of opening it in the packed school library and causing such a ruckus. In her defense, it was an accident. She was putting away a pile of books on research of magical objects when she accidentally knocked it over, and it opened on its own. The loud screeching filled the library and disrupted the many students studying for end of the semester exams.

“Sorry, I’m so sorry!” Haseul apologized profusely with red cheeks as she closed the egg again.

Jungeun snickered quietly from where she was sitting, a table with Chaewon and Jiwoo. She hadn’t seen Heejin or Jinsol all day, nor had she seen Hyunjin or Sooyoung. Weird. She expected Sooyoung or Jinsol to be in the library at least looking up possibilities for the second task or at least spying on Haseul while she tried to figure it out. Jungeun admittedly missed their presence. She’d even go far to say that she wouldn’t mind their bickering either.

But the past few weeks, she’d been making more of an effort to spend time with both of them together by making them walk her to classes or inviting one of them to study with her while “coincidentally” running into the other. That seemed to be the only way to get Jinsol and Sooyoung to spend time together. She felt like it was slowly but surely lowering their hostility towards each other, but it definitely was still present. She hadn’t gotten much of a chance to spend much alone time with them either. Her own exams and their constant training sessions left their schedules crammed, and Jungeun missed being in Jinsol’s arms or kissing Sooyoung’s gentle lips. She craved Jinsol and Sooyoung more than any of her favorite sweets.

“Psst, hey, losers,” Yeojin said as she approached the table with Yeri. “You got dates to the Yule Ball yet?”

“No,” Jiwoo said sadly, looking longingly at Haseul’s desk.

Chaewon nodded. “Yes, I do. Hyejoo asked me yesterday. Isn’t she the sweetest?” She brushed some of her blonde hair out of the way and showed off a small heart locket with the initials SHJ engraved in it. “She bought me this too. She has a gold one with my initials. I really don’t deserve her.”

“Again, why aren’t you official?” Jungeun asked incredulously.

Chaewon shrugged and smiled weakly.

“Well, I’m about to go ask someone now,” Yeri said confidently, placing her hands on her hips.

 _Not like that, you won’t,_ Jungeun thought as she looked over at Yeri’s unkempt appearance. Her pink hair was sticking out in several places. Her shirt was untucked, and her tie was so loosely tied that it was definitely about to unravel. Even though Yeri was a Metamorphmagus, she only bothered to keep a neat appearance when she actually wanted to. And she could literally make herself look like anybody… that girl was a little on the weird side.

Jiwoo gasped. “Huh!? Who!?” 

“Joy.”

Jungeun’s eyes widened as she looked across the room to where the Slytherin seventh year sat. She was gorgeous with her long black hair and a pretty smile. Many guys and girls had a crush on Joy, so it was no surprise Yeri would want to ask someone like her. But would Joy even say yes to someone like Yeri?

“You’re crazy,” Yeojin said bluntly. “She’s gonna say no.”

Yeri rolled her eyes at Yeojin and smirked. “Watch me.” She strode up to Joy and tapped on her shoulder confidently. “Hi, Joy, '' she greeted. 

The older girl looked up from her Ancient Runes textbook and gave Yeri a soft smile. “What’s up?”

“Will you go to the Yule Ball with me?”

Jungeun couldn’t contain her surprise when Joy let out a loud squeal that definitely didn’t belong in a library setting and pulled the smaller girl into a hug. “Kim Yerim! I was going to ask you. How dare you beat me to it? Of course, I’ll go with you, baby.”

Yeri beamed widely and looked back over at Yeojin, who was clearly stunned.

“Baby!? You mean-” Yeojin started to say.

“Yeah. You’re not exactly very observant,” Yeri replied as Joy pulled her onto her lap.

Yeojin rolled her eyes. “I can’t… I can’t believe this,” she stammered. She ran a hand through her hair and turned to look at a group of Hufflepuffs. “Screw it. I’m not going to the ball without a date… Hey, Choi Yerim!”

Yerim perked her head up. “Yeah, Yeojin?” she asked curiously while the other Hufflepuffs she was sitting with turned to look at Yeojin. She was studying with quite a few students. The only ones Jungeun recognized were sixth years Jo Serim and Wang Yiren. Wow. Yerim was really popular.

“Yule Ball. You and me?” Yeojin winked.

The bubbly Hufflepuff broke out into a big smile. “I’d love to!”

Yeojin grinned back at her before turning back to Jiwoo, Jungeun, and Chaewon. “I guess Yeri was right. It’s easy.”

Jiwoo looked conflicted, glancing between Haseul’s desk and their own table before finally standing up. “Oh, why not… If I don’t do this now, I’m going to have to watch Haseul dance with someone else,” she said confidently and balled up her fists and walked over to Haseul.

Jungeun couldn’t help but smile proudly at her best friend. She was finally putting herself first for once, and that was all Jungeun wanted her to do. It was okay to be a little selfish at times if it meant taking care of yourself and letting you be happy.

“Hi, Haseul,” Jiwoo squeaked.

“Hi, Jiwoo,” Haseul smiled widely at her.

“Um… do you have a date to the Yule Ball?”

Haseul’s ears turned pink after Jiwoo asked that question. She cleared her throat and brushed a bit of her short hair behind her ear. “No, I don’t, why?”

“D-Do you want to go with me?” Jiwoo asked.

“As friends?”

“Uh…” Jiwoo looked back at Jungeun with a panicked look in her eye. 

Jungeun gave her an encouraging smile.

“As not friends,” Jiwoo said sheepishly.

Haseul’s smile was so big, and she let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, Jiwoo, I was so worried you were going to say as friends. Yes, of course, I’ll go with you!” She opened her arms wide for Jiwoo to come into and hugged her tightly. “I’m so happy you asked me. I wouldn’t want to go with anyone else. Oh, by the way, I hope you’re good at dancing. Champions are supposed to be the first dancers.”

“I HAVE TO SLOW DANCE WITH YOU IN FRONT OF THE ENTIRE SCHOOL!?”

“Jiwoo!” Haseul gasped. “Be quiet! This is a library.”

Jungeun rolled her eyes and turned back to her work. She was happy that some couples seemed to be getting together without any problems. She just wished it would be the same for her. She couldn’t decide at all who she wanted to go with, and that was a huge problem. Was it normal for her to like two people and not be able to pick? She didn’t want to pick either. But if Sooyoung and Jinsol didn’t hate each other, this would be so much easier.

“Say, Chaewon… have you ever heard of someone liking more than one person at the same time?” Jungeun asked.

Chaewon tilted her head in thought and hummed. “Well, I’ve heard of wizards taking more than one wife.”

“That’s not the same thing,” Jungeun grumbled.

“Oh, is this about Jinsol and Sooyoung?”

“How did you-” Jungeun shook her head. “So what if it is?”

Chaewon laughed softly. “I’m not the best when it comes to love advice, and frankly, I’m not very good at it either. Just trust your gut.”

“But I don’t know who to pick-”

“The don’t pick, dummy.”

Chaewon was always pretty straight to the point.

Jungeun didn’t have much time to dwell on it before she heard Hyunjin and Heejin clear their throats behind her. She turned around and looked at the Durmstrang and “Beauxbatons” girls in confusion. “What’s up?”

“Sooyoung wants to see you. She says to meet her at ‘her spot.’ You know the one. Apparently, you’ve met there before,” Hyunjin said.

Heejin’s eyes bulged out. “That’s the message you wanted to give to Jungeun!? Oh, no, Jinsol told me to tell Jungeun to meet her at the boathouse!”

“Wait…” Hyunjin said. “That means they’re both at the boathouse waiting for her.”

“And they’re probably trying to kill each other!”

Jungeun swore under her breath. “Fuck, okay, c’mon. I gotta go stop them from doing something stupid.”

This was either going to be a disaster or a catastrophe.

* * *

But it was not a disaster or a catastrophe. Not at all. Jungeun’s jaw dropped as she descended down the stairs to the lake and caught Sooyoung wrapping her fur cloak around Jinsol’s shivering shoulders. In fact, the distance between them was very small. And was Sooyoung smiling? She had to have been seeing things. As she continued her long descent down to the boathouse, she finally got close enough to hear their voices.

“You didn’t have to give me this,” Jinsol said.

Sooyoung laughed gently. “You looked cold, Jung. Isn’t Beauxbatons in the mountains? Shouldn’t you be used to this?”

“I spend my summers on the beaches of Southern France. This… is the warmest uniform Beauxbatons gives us.”

“Oh, you poor thing. You’d never survive in Bulgaria. I’d like to see you try.”

“You want me to visit you in Bulgaria?”

“I- No- That’s not what I meant!”

Jinsol let out a chuckle as Sooyoung turned bright red. “I’m a little disappointed honestly. I really wanted to see Bulgaria with the most obnoxious tour guide possible.”

Jungeun hated to interrupt this positive interaction, but she really wanted to know why Sooyoung and Jinsol wanted to talk to her. “Hey,” she said softly, catching their attention. She almost laughed when Sooyoung and Jinsol literally jumped apart from each other. She ran a hand through her hair and leaned against the railing of the stone stairs. “You guys were looking for me?”

“Huh!?” Sooyoung glared at Jinsol. “That’s why you’re here! Why do you want to see Jungeun?”

“Why do _you_ want to see Jungeun?” Jinsol fired back.

“Bowl-jaw-looking bitch, I don’t have to tell you.”

“Hey!” Jungeun yelled. “Cut that out, or I’m not talking to either of you.”

Sooyoung and Jinsol glared at each other.

Jungeun sighed. “Okay… I’ll talk to Sooyoung first and then Jinsol? Does that work for both of you?”

“But Jungeun,” Jinsol pouted. “I wanted to talk about… you know…”

“Then, we’ll get Sooyoung out of the way.”

“Get me out of the way!? Excuse me?” Sooyoung put her hands on her hips. “Jungeun-”

Jungeun frowned. “No, Soo, you’re important too. Hey, come on…” She really needed to separate Sooyoung and Jinsol fast. She grabbed Sooyoung’s hand and led her inside the boathouse. “Just wait out there, okay, Jinsol?”

Jinsol gave her a thumbs up, but her face had a look of uncertainty on it.

She pushed open the door to the boathouse and let Sooyoung enter first before closing the door behind her. Jungeun barely had a chance to do anything else before Sooyoung pushed her up against the wall and captured her lips into a hungry kiss. It certainly wasn’t unwelcomed, but Jungeun definitely wasn’t expecting it. Her lips tasted like green apples. Her hands tangled in Sooyoung’s soft short hair before the moment had ended too soon, and Sooyoung had pulled away.

“Sorry. You just look so damn kissable with those rosy cheeks of yours. You must be cold, huh?”

Jungeun’s face reddened. “Oh… thank you. And I’m fine honestly.”

Sooyoung placed her hands on Jungeun’s hips. “I shouldn’t have been all snappy earlier. I won’t take long with this anyway. Unless, of course, you want to kiss a little longer…”

“With Jinsol outside?”

“I get off on the idea of having my hands all over you right under her nose.”

“Sooyoung!” Jungeun hissed, playfully hitting the girl.

“Sorry,” she said with a cheeky grin. She brushed a bit of Jungeun’s hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. “You, uh, got a date to the Yule Ball?”

Jungeun shook her head. “No.”

“Really? Someone as pretty as you still has no date,” Sooyoung said incredulously.

“Maybe I’m just waiting for the right person to ask me.”

Sooyoung raised a brow. “What about me?”

“You haven’t asked me yet,” Jungeun pointed out.

“Fine.” Sooyoung smiled widely at her, tracing her thumb over the apple of Jungeun’s cheek. “Will you go to the ball with me?”

“Yes,” Jungeun said without any hesitation.

Sooyoung broke out into an even bigger smile. “Really? That’s great. I was worried you would say no. Cool. I can’t wait.”

Jungeun nodded. “I can’t wait either.” She leaned in and pressed her lips to Sooyoung’s again. This time it was a much gentler kiss. Pulling away after a few seconds, she booped Sooyoung on the nose. “I should go see what Jinsol wants. We can sit together during dinner?”

“Yeah. Sounds good, babe,” Sooyoung agreed, ushering for Jungeun to move out of the way. She pushed the door open and walked outside, holding the door open for Jungeun to leave.

“Wait! No! That’s fine. I can talk to Jungeun in there,” Jinsol said, hurrying over to the boathouse. She paused and looked at Sooyoung’s lips. “You uh… your lip gloss is smudged.”

Sooyoung smirked widely. “Oh, I wonder why,” she said in a faux-sweet voice. Jungeun wasn’t sure if she wanted to slap the shit out of Sooyoung or kiss her. And then she sauntered away way too confidently, Jungeun wanted to roll her eyes. What an arrogant dumbass.

Jinsol rolled her eyes and stepped into the boathouse. “She’s so weird. I can’t stand her. How can you even deal with her?”

“She’s not so bad once you feed into her ego,” Jungeun told her.

“Yeah, I’m not doing that.”

Jungeun burst out laughing, and Jinsol quickly followed suit. It was so nice to share a laugh with her best friend. Well, her best friend that she had feelings for, but that was a technicality.

“So, we should talk,” Jungeun said softly.

Jinsol nodded. “Yes, we should.” She took Jungeun’s hands into hers and smiled reassuringly. “Do you want me to talk first?”

“If you could…”

“Jungeun, I’ve been in love with you since my fifth year,” Jinsol said. Her eyes widened. “Wait, no, I didn’t mean it in that extreme. I’ve always loved you. Like you’re my best friend, of course, I love you, but I didn’t catch feelings for you until my fifth year. Does that love still count when you catch feelings for your best friend? Oh, this is so confusing.”

Jungeun squeezed Jinsol’s hands encouragingly. “I think the lines between us have always been blurred. Don’t you agree? Maybe I’ve just always been attached to you. Maybe I’m feeling exactly what you’re feeling.”

Jinsol’s cheeks scrunched up, and an adorable pout formed on her lips. “You really think so?”

“Jinsol, there have been so many times I’ve wanted to kiss you but didn’t because I was so scared to. I’m the idiot here,” Jungeun laughed. Her chest felt heavy with the burden of all these unsaid feelings, but Jinsol was there and so understanding. She would catch Jungeun if she fell, and Jungeun was sure she had already fallen hard for Jinsol.

She didn’t feel like vomiting when she whispered, “I like you.”

“I like you too,” Jinsol breathed out.

Jungeun wanted to start crying. She never expected this outcome, to finally be on the same page as Jinsol. She wrapped her arms around the taller girl and buried her head into Jinsol’s chest. She sniffled quietly as Jinsol rubbed her back comfortingly. “I’m so glad… So, so glad.”

“Don’t cry, Jungeun. Please don’t cry,” Jinsol mumbled. “You’re okay. I got you. We’re okay.”

This time she initiated the kiss, gaining the confidence that she needed all those years ago to confess to Jinsol. Jungeun stood on her toes and captured Jinsol’s lips into a soft kiss. Jinsol squeezed Jungeun gently against her and kissed her back. She closed her eyes and let herself get lost in the moment.

Jinsol began to kiss her more and ran her tongue teasingly over Jungeun’s lips. “Mmm, your lips taste so good. Like green apples. You need to wear this lip gloss more often.”

 _You should kiss Sooyoung then,_ Jungeun wanted to say, but she definitely shouldn’t think about Jinsol and Sooyoung kissing while she was kissing Jinsol. Although, the thought was interesting.

Jinsol broke the kiss finally and pressed her lips to Jungeun’s forehead. “You know what would be a great first date idea?”

“Hmmm?” Jungeun mumbled.

“The Yule Ball.”

“Oh?”

“What do you think?” Jinsol asked with a big, excited smile. “Do you want to go together?”

Jungeun nodded. “Yeah. I would love to.”

“Yay!” Jinsol kissed Jungeun again. “Ugh, babe, I love your lip gloss.”

Jungeun didn’t have the heart to tell her.

“Oh, crap!” Jinsol gasped. “I’m still wearing Sooyoung’s fur cloak. I have to give it back.” A cute pout formed on her lips.

She smiled reassuringly. “You can give it back during dinner. I’m going to sit with Sooyoung. Do you want to join us?”

“Hmmm… hard pass.”

“Please?”

“Okay, I’ll think about it.”

They walked back up to the castle holding hands. Jungeun couldn’t get over how nice it felt now that she and Jinsol had confessed their feelings. They hadn’t exactly defined the relationship yet, but it was better than nothing. She could figure it out later after the Yule Ball.

She honestly couldn’t wait for it. Going with Sooyoung and Jinsol was the most ideal outcome for her. She stopped suddenly in her tracks. Wait, she had said yes to both Sooyoung and Jinsol. Two champions were taking the same girl to the Yule Ball. Neither Sooyoung and Jinsol knew about it, they were completely convinced that they were each taking her separately. 

Okay, this wasn’t a genius move on Jungeun’s end, but every cloud had a silver lining. In this case, she would have to force Sooyoung and Jinsol to get along instead of bicker. Maybe this would turn out better than she thought. She really hoped so. Like, really hoped so.

“You coming, Jungie?” Jinsol whined.

Jungeun smiled up at her and squeezed Jinsol’s hand. “Yeah, sweetheart, let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i mean... technically yvesoul did kiss :D next chapter is the yule ball! be prepared for a lot of fun.
> 
> twitter:  
> @hyeiipves  
> curious cat:  
> curiouscat.me/hyeslipse


	8. SEVEN: YULE TIDINGS

Christmas day came much faster than Jungeun thought, and soon she was standing in front of the mirror in her dormitory preparing for the Yule Ball. The semester ended uneventfully except for Jiwoo nearly burning Jungeun’s eyebrow off in a failed nonverbal spell. Most of the student body was distracted by the Yule Ball to actually care about their exams. Normally, she’d be beyond excited for something like this, but this time, she was filled with a sense of dread. No one knew but Jungeun that she was taking Jinsol and Sooyoung to the ball. She didn’t have the guts to tell anyone.

She turned her head to look at Jiwoo, who was applying mascara. Things would’ve been so much simpler if she had asked Jiwoo to the ball instead. She opened her lipstick and slowly painted her lips a rosy red. Across the room, Yeri and Jiwon were also getting ready, and Jungeun was pleased to see that Yeri’s hair actually looked like it had been combed.

“Jungie,” Jiwoo whined, “you never told me who you’re going to the Yule Ball with.”

“You’ll see,” Jungeun said passively for like the three thousandth time.

“I know it’s either Sooyoung or Jinsol!” Jiwoo squeaked.

Jungeun just rolled her eyes. “I’ll… explain on the way down.”

“Explain!?” Jiwoo asked with evident concern, carefully smoothing out her flowy baby pink dress. “What is there to explain?”

Jungeun tensed, now feeling Jiwon and Yeri’s curious gazes on her. “It’s fine. I have everything under control.” She had dyed her hair a somewhat auburn color with the help of Yeojin, who surprisingly was very good at handling hair. “How do I look?” She gestured to her red two-piece pantsuit and garnet earrings that were a gift from her mother.

“Are those dress robes?” Jiwoo asked.

“They were… before I had them redesigned.”

_ “You  _ did that?”

“No, I paid someone in Hogsmeade to,” Jungeun shot back. “Listen, dress robes are  _ heavy.  _ If I’m going to look graceful dancing, I need it to be modernized. Also, I refuse to wear a dress.”

Jiwoo chuckled. “Fair enough.”

After they both finished getting ready, Jiwoo and Jungeun linked arms and made their way down the spiral staircase. The common room was mostly empty except for a few students straightening out their outfits and a few young first years moping in the corner. Jungeun pushed open the portrait and climbed out of the portrait hole to find Heejin waiting.

“Heejin!” Jungeun screamed in surprise, clutching her chest. “You scared me.”

Heejin raised a brow, placing her hands on her hips. “What? You thought I wouldn’t be waiting here? We’re meeting Chaewon on the third floor landing and walking down together. This is an event for all of us,” she said. She pointed to her silver dress and hair tied up in a bun, butterfly clips keeping loose strands in place. “You like it? I hope I look good for Hyunjin.”

“Hyunjin, huh?” Jiwoo grinned.

Heejin’s cheeks flushed red. “Yeah. Hyunjin.”

“Cute,” Jiwoo hummed. “Quick, link your arm with mine. We gotta look hot. Oh, I always hoped my high school prom would be like this.”

“Prom…” Heejin blinked as she linked arms with Jiwoo. “Like the dog?”

“No, Heejin.”

Jungeun chuckled quietly, and the three of them made their way down the Grand Staircase. She hoped Jiwoo wouldn’t bring up who she was going with in front of Heejin. Because once Heejin started pestering her, it’d turn out to be a whole nightmare. She was glad Chaewon couldn’t give two craps about anyone but herself and Hyejoo.

“Jungeun,” Jiwoo sang impatiently, “tell me what’s up.”

Heejin furrowed her brows and looked at Jungeun in confusion.

“Okay, fine. You wanna know what’s up?”

“Yes.”

“Yes…?” Heejin asked. “Wait, what’s going on?”

Jungeun ignored Heejin. “My dates to the Yule Ball are Jinsol and Sooyoung, and they don’t know I said yes to both of them.”

“KIM JUNGEUN!” Jiwoo groaned and facepalmed. “That’s gotta be the most-”

“-Genius thing I’ve ever heard!” Heejin finished for her with a bright smile. “Now, you don’t have to worry about picking. Ha, nice going, Jungeun.” She held her hand up for a high-five. Jungeun gladly accepted it, high-fiving her right over Jiwoo’s head.

Jiwoo rolled her eyes. “No, it’s not! Do you really think they’re going to be okay with this? Like, seriously? What were you thinking?”

“I-” A wave of regret washed over Jungeun, and she bowed her head in embarrassment. “I wasn’t thinking. Oh, no, have I totally messed up?”

“If you have to ask, then the answer is yes,” Chaewon said, leaning against the railing in a lavender gown.

“Chaewon!?” Jungeun hissed, surprised that her other best friend had managed to overhear their conversation. Then she realized that they had finally reached the third floor landing. “This is your fault! You said I didn’t have to pick.”

“I said you don’t really have to pick between Sooyoung and Jinsol, but what you just did was stupid.”

“So you’re saying I should’ve told them about it…”

“Yes? Why didn’t you?” Jiwoo chastised.

Jungeun shrugged. “I… I didn’t want them to be mad at me.”

Chaewon chuckled quietly. “Well, they’re probably about to be madder at you than you ever imagined, so you really messed up, Jungeun.”

“Fuck me.”

They reached the Entrance Hall landing, and Jungeun sucked her breath in as her gaze landed on the crowds of people. Most had already entered the Great Hall, but since Jiwoo and Jungeun’s dates were champions, they would have to walk in with the procession. Speaking of which, where were her dates? 

She noticed Sooyoung first in her formal Durmstrang uniform. Her lips were blood red to match her robes and fur cloak that was fastened over her left shoulder. She noticed Hyunjin in the same outfit. Shame, Durmstrang didn’t have much of a choice when it came to what they could wear to the Yule Ball.

She saw Jinsol talking to Haseul just across the way from Sooyoung and Haseul. Jinsol had a royal blue off the shoulder gown with a silver headdress that almost resembled a flower crown. Haseul contrasted her with a golden gown and hair tied up into a low bun.

Jungeun gently elbowed Jiwoo. “Haseul looks pretty.”

“So does Jinsol,” Jiwoo replied, elbowing Jungeun back.

“I see Hyunjin,” Heejin said. “Where’s Hyejoo, Chae?”

“Right there.” Chaewon pointed to the dark-haired girl with black, traditional dress robes. Yeojin in a short pink dress was adjusting Hyejoo’s bow tie, but she wasn’t tall enough to reach it. Yerim was gently adjusting Hyejoo’s collar.

“Okay… shall we?” Jungeun asked her friends.

“Let’s walk.”

The four of them, arms linked together, walked down the stairs to the Entrance Hall. Jungeun could feel eyes glued to them, and she couldn’t blame them. Four hot girls walking down together? That was a sight to see.

She brushed a bit of her hair back and smiled at Jiwoo. At least she was here with her best friend.

“Hyejoo, look at Chaewon! She’s gorgeous!” Yerim giggled.

“I- I-” Hyejoo stuttered. “She is.”

Chaewon giggled softly. “I’m going over to my date now, ‘kay?” she asked in a soft tone before gracefully walking over to Hyejoo and greeting her with a kiss to the cheek.

“And once again, she ditches us,” Heejin laughed.

Jungeun froze, looking between Sooyoung and Jinsol. Both of them had their eyes on her, looking at her in pure adoration, and all Jungeun could do was feel guilty. She decided it was best if she let them come to her. She didn’t want them to get any ideas because she decided to approach one over the other.

“Remember,” Jiwoo whispered into her ear, “this is your fault.”

Jungeun scowled as Jiwoo and Heejin left her alone as they had gone off to greet their respective partners. She had never felt so awkward and ashamed in her entire life.

Like magnets to a metal pole, Sooyoung and Jinsol turned away from their conversations with their friends and slowly made their way towards Jungeun. Jungeun stood her ground, trying her best to hide how anxious she was by them approaching her.

“Hi,” Sooyoung greeted with a big smile. “You look nice. We complement each other well. Both in red, ha.” She took Jungeun’s hands into hers and brought it up to her lips, pressing a gentle kiss to her hand.

Jinsol snorted. “Chivalrous as always, Yves. You always know how to please the ladies,” she remarked, not at all hiding the bite in her tone. She pulled Jungeun into a hug and kissed Jungeun’s cheeks. “Hi, Jungie. You look beautiful.”

“You too,” Jungeun replied. She cleared her throat and pulled away to look at Sooyoung. “You both do.”

Jinsol and Sooyoung exchanged silent looks.

“So, um, ready to go in?” Jungeun asked.

“Yes,” Sooyoung and Jinsol said at the same time. They paused and then looked at each other. “Wait, what!?” Again, at the same time.

Sooyoung raised a brow. “I’m her date.”

“What are you talking about?” Jinsol snorted. “I’m her date.”

Both girls sized each other up. Jungeun tensed, fearing that a duel would break out right in the middle of the Entrance Hall. She had to end this quickly. “Actually, you’re both my dates,” she said with as much confidence as she could muster.

“Huh?”

“What?”

Jungeun smiled shyly. “Surprise?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I know I should’ve told you guys about it beforehand, but in my defense, if I bring up one around the other, your hate boner for each other just flares up. There was no way you would have agreed to this otherwise.” A meek smile formed on her lips. “I’m sorry… Don’t hate me, please?”

Sooyoung sighed in frustration, running a hand through her straightened hair. “For goodness sake, Jungeun… This has to be the most absurd thing a girl I’ve been with has ever done.”

“Don’t call Jungeun crazy,” Jinsol said defensively.

Sooyoung let out a short laugh. “What!? You’re okay with this, Jung?”

“I could be okay with it if you weren’t a jerkwad,” Jinsol replied. “I will do anything to make Jungeun happy. And I can’t deny that you two… have something.” She shrugged her shoulders before her lips protruded into a pout. “I wish you told me about this though, Jungeun. I’m always open to communicate.”

Jungeun bowed her head. “Are you mad at me, Jinsol?”

“Mad at you? No. A little disappointed? Yes. Confused? Definitely.”

She exhaled shakily, feeling very pained by the thought of Jinsol even being a tiny bit disappointed in her. “I’ll take that.” She placed a shaky hand on Sooyoung’s shoulder and tilted her head to the side. “Soo?”

“Merlin’s pants…” Sooyoung muttered under her breath. “I can’t believe I’m going along with this. The things I do for…” She ran a hand through her hair. “I’ll be honest. Unlike your lovey-dovey best friend here, I’m a bit ticked off, but I refuse to let Jung Jinsol ruin my night with you.” She placed her hand on top of Jungeun’s on her shoulder. “If I have to share, I expect Jinsol to play nice too.”

“Play nice?” Jinsol rolled her eyes. “You don’t play nice either.”

Sooyoung glared at Jinsol. “Well, if we’re doing this for Jungeun, we’re both going to have to cooperate as much as I hate it.”

“Oh, come on! It’ll be a great bonding experience!”

“If you insist,” Sooyoung grumbled. “Jungeun, what do you even see in her?”

Jungeun chuckled quietly. “I see a huge, cute dork. And soon you’ll see it too,” she said a little bit confidently.

Sooyoung turned to look at Jinsol, grimacing before muttering in her ear, “I sort of see it already. It’s disgusting.”

_ See? This wasn’t so bad,  _ Jungeun thought.  _ As long as I can keep the tension between them low, I think I can make this work. _

“Champions! Line up by the doors with your dates. We’ll be entering the Great Hall in five minutes,” Professor Taemin announced. “Haseul in the front, Jinsol in the middle, and Sooyoung in the-” He paused when he looked at Sooyoung and Jinsol standing next to Jungeun. “Which one of you is missing a date?”

“Actually,” Sooyoung said with a shy smile. “We’re sharing a date.”

“And they’re dates too,” Jungeun added on.

“WHAT!?” Jinsol and Sooyoung sputtered.

Jungeun elbowed them both. “Yes, you are.” 

That immediately stopped their protesting, and they grumbled their agreement.

Professor Taemin looked at the three of them incredulously. “Very well… if that’s the case, we’ll have Haseul and Jiwoo in the front, and… you three in the back.  _ God, this is going to be a disaster.” _

Jungeun smiled confidently as she linked arms with the girls next to her. She definitely was playing with fire tonight, but as a proud Gryffindor, taking risks was second nature to her. She squeezed the two girls’ arms and beamed up at them, heart pounding at how they both smiled back at her. She had never felt more alive.

* * *

Jungeun had never seen the Great Hall decorated like this. Sure, Hogwarts always had nice decorations for Christmas, but that was nothing compared to the extravagant display in front of her. The floor seemed to be made of ice, and Jungeun couldn’t count how many illuminated ice sculptures of fancy castles, reindeer, and other animals were on the round tables where students would be eating dinner. She looked above her. The floating candles the Great Hall usually had were removed and had been replaced by snow clouds. Although the snow coming down from it never hit the ground, the magic of it was still there.

The students formed a line to watch the champions walk into the Great Hall. Jungeun hated having all this attention on her, but  _ of course,  _ Sooyoung loved everyone looking at her. But it was hard not to have everyone look at them especially since the two champions that nearly killed each other during the First Task were taking the same girl to the Yule Ball. 

Sooyoung waved and winked at the crowd like the celebrity that she was. She leaned in to whisper into Jungeun’s ear. “Come to think of it, I’ll have to thank you for this. Everybody loves me now.”

“You’re a narcissist,” Jinsol muttered, clearly overhearing Sooyoung’s gloating.

Sooyoung grinned at Jinsol. “When I look this good, of course, I am!”

Jinsol huffed in annoyance. “Shut up.”

“Make me.”

“Both of you, behave,” Jungeun urged.

The crowd formed a circle near the head table where the champions, their dates, the professors, and the Ministry officials would be sitting during dinner. Where the head table and the hourglasses that counted all the house points usually were was a large stage set-up, Jungeun assumed a band would be performing beside the orchestra.

As they stepped into the circle, Professor Young made direct eye contact with her, silently telling her to not mess up the dance steps.

Jiwoo giggled as Haseul placed her hands on her hips. “Wow, I can’t wait to slow dance with you, Haseul.”

“Me too, Jiwoo,” Haseul answered with a sweet smile.

Jungeun had completely forgotten that she was supposed to waltz with her dates. She turned to Sooyoung and Jinsol and gave them a panicked look. “Okay, so slight oversight… I forgot we’re all supposed to dance. What do we do?”

Jinsol furrowed her brows. “Oh, uh… I have never, ever heard of a three-person waltz. Is that even possible?”

“It is,” Sooyoung answered. “I learned it briefly at a dance academy. But there’s no way I can teach you in a matter of-” She was cut off by the conductor tapping the stand and raising his arms. Sooyoung quickly shoved Jungeun into Jinsol’s arms. “We don’t have time. Jungeun, dance with Jinsol, and we’ll switch off when I say.”

“But-”

The music started abruptly, forcing Jinsol to lead Jungeun in an apprehensive waltz. Jungeun’s gaze moved to meet Sooyoung’s, but she did not look upset. Instead, her expression was neutral. Sooyoung stepped in time with the music as she followed Jinsol and Jungeun around the circle.

_ Okay, Jungeun, just focus on Jinsol,  _ she thought, glancing at Jinsol’s beaming face.  _ She’s so beautiful. _

Jinsol and Jungeun finally got into a smooth, comfortable rhythm. Jungeun wasn’t a terrible dancer just very helpless when it came to pretty girls. Jinsol turned them around and then twirled her, making Jungeun laugh at how light she felt on her feet.

“This is fun,” Jungeun remarked breathlessly.

Jinsol nodded. “Yeah, it is,” she agreed. “When I first heard about the Triwizard Tournament, the first thing I thought of was how lucky I’d be to dance with you.”

“And how did you know that you’d be able to take me to the Yule Ball?”

“I just had an inkling.”

“Well, you were right.”

“I would’ve been devastated if I was wrong.”

Jinsol’s hands squeezed Jungeun’s waist lightly as she lifted her into the air and spun her. Although before she could even complete the full turn, Jungeun felt Sooyoung’s hands reach up and grab her waist, pulling her out of Jinsol’s grasp. Jungeun squeezed her eyes shut preparing for her to fall but Sooyoung gracefully led her falling body into a dip.

Sooyoung and Jungeun’s eyes met. The girl winked at her. “Wasn’t that smooth?” she asked, leaning in close to Jungeun’s face.

“Gorgeous,” Jungeun mumbled in response as Sooyoung pulled her back up and placed her hand on Jungeun’s waist, signaling for them to pick back up with the waltz. She held Sooyoung close to her as she let the clearly more experienced dancer lead the way.

Jinsol looked dumbfounded. “Hey, wait a minute! I barely got to dance with her!” she protested.

“Well, I thought your time was up,” Sooyoung shot back, flashing Jinsol a cheeky smile over Jungeun’s shoulder.

Jinsol stomped her foot and glared at her. “Why you-”

“Why aren’t you dancing, Jung?” Sooyoung teased mockingly. “You look like a fool.”

Jinsol’s nostrils flared, and instead of stepping in time with the music, she marched after Jungeun and Sooyoung and pulled Jungeun out of Sooyoung’s arms into her own. “Mine,” she growled.

“Hey, wait a minute-” Jungeun started to protest.

“No,” Sooyoung snarled, pulling Jungeun right back into her arms. “Mine.”

Jinsol yanked on Jungeun’s left arm while Sooyoung did her best to hold Jungeun in place like this was some weird game of tug of war with Jungeun as the rope.

Jungeun’s eyes moved around the room, desperate for some kind of assistance. Jiwoo and Haseul were staring at them in complete confusion while dancing across from them. Jungeun quietly mouthed,  _ Help me.  _ Jiwoo just shook her head as if she was trying to remind her that this was her fault.

And if anyone was going to be her deus ex machina, it would be the goddess Vivi herself. A delicate hand grabbed Jungeun’s shoulder and pulled her back from the two tugging girls, forcing Sooyoung and Jinsol to collide with each other. Jungeun winced and turned back to look at Vivi. 

The woman in the jade gown smiled contently at her as she moved to place Jungeun’s hand on her waist. “You lead,” she insisted.

Jungeun swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded as she started dancing with the older girl. She glanced over in Sooyoung and Jinsol’s direction to see what was going on. But to Jungeun’s surprise and relief, they had started dancing with each other too. Though their smiles were forced and their grip on each other was far from gentle, she could commend them for not causing more of a scene than they did before.

“Thanks for stepping in,” Jungeun said quietly. “It was about to get ugly fast.”

“The last thing I need is for those two to cause a diplomatic crisis,” Vivi replied. “And you had the bright idea of bringing both of them. Curious, of all people, I thought you would bring Jiwoo.”

“What? Why?” Jungeun tilted her head to the side. “Not Jinsol?”

Vivi chuckled quietly. “Well, I didn’t know if you would ever get your head out of your ass.” As Jungeun twirled her, she let out a soft exhale. “Throwing Yves in the mix… I wasn’t expecting that. When did this happen?”

“You know I’ve always admired her,” Jungeun answered. “We started getting closer, and I got to get to know the girl off of the Quidditch pitch. And she’s… even more amazing than I ever imagined. It didn’t take long for admiration to change to affection.”

“Obviously.”

Jungeun’s gaze shifted back to Sooyoung and Jinsol, quickly looking away when she realized they were both looking at her. “I do, in fact, like both of them. I’m not purposefully trying to cause a scene. I just… I just don’t want to pick between them when they’re both great and so good to me.” She ran a hand through her tresses. “They just  _ hate  _ each other, and I don’t understand why. If it has to do with me, and I like both of them, why are they throwing a fit?”

“I don’t know, Jungeun. I barely know these people,” she replied.

Her shoulders sank. Why was she asking advice from Vivi of all people? She didn’t know anything.

“But Jungeun… if I were you,” Vivi said quietly, “I wouldn’t give up because things aren’t working out now. If they both care about you, they’ll fight to be with you. Wait, I worded that wrong. They will probably fight with each other, but they’ll also fight to keep you. Does that make sense?” Vivi shrugged her shoulder. “I don’t know the nature of your relationship with each other besides Sooyoung and Jinsol’s awful rivalry, but you’d be silly to give up on them. I wish I never gave up on Haseul… because look how that turned out.” She gave a pointed look to Haseul and Jiwoo, clearly in their own world as they smiled and danced with each other. “I miss her. I really do, but I accept that we’re over now. I should’ve fought harder to save our relationship.”

Jungeun gave Vivi a sympathetic smile and squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry, Viv.” She turned back to look at Sooyoung and Jinsol once again, but this time, they were looking at each other with soft smiles. Jungeun swore she could’ve seen Jinsol’s cheeks heating up as Sooyoung dipped her and brushed a bit of her blonde hair out of her face. Another moment where she had caught them actually being pleasant with each other, and it gave her hope. And maybe that was what Vivi needed last year during her hardships with Haseul. 

She didn’t even have a pang of jealousy when she saw but a sense of longing, wishing that the small moments of adoration would replace their vicious arguments.

Maybe she wasn’t interfering enough in their relationship to mend things. Maybe she should just give them a little push. Maybe this was what Vivi meant by not giving up on Sooyoung and Jinsol.

She turned back to Vivi, ideas and plans already forming in her mind.

“Fight for them,” Vivi reiterated. “Don’t be like me.”

Jungeun could only nod slowly.

* * *

After that debacle, Jungeun could safely say the night was magical. Sooyoung and Jinsol slowly became more and more comfortable with each other’s presence. Jungeun always thought they had more in common than they thought they did. And with both of them relaxed with each other, Jungeun easily was showered with all the affection in the world. Sooyoung, the gentlewoman that she was, made sure that Jungeun and Jinsol’s glasses of pumpkin juice were always full. Jungeun had to laugh at how surprised Jinsol was when Sooyoung came back with two glasses of pumpkin juice instead of one. She had leaned in to whisper into Jungeun’s ear, “You know, if she’s going to continue to wait on me hand and foot, I don’t think she’s so bad anymore.”

Then, Sooyoung stepped on her foot by accident, and Jinsol was quick to berate her.

Jungeun also noticed how Sooyoung also started laughing at Jinsol’s jokes. Usually, it was just Jungeun laughing at Jinsol’s stupid but funny remarks, and Sooyoung would just let out a forced chuckle. But Jinsol had something particularly funny, and Jungeun, face contorted like a lion roaring, noticed Sooyoung’s nose scrunch up as she genuinely giggled and playfully hit Jinsol on the arm. Jinsol smiled back at her.

Then, Jinsol made a distasteful joke about professional Quidditch, and Sooyoung was quick to confront her.

But it was still progress, and that was enough for Jungeun. Enough to convince her that she wasn’t crazy for thinking she could potentially date Sooyoung and Jinsol without any problems.

Dinner was delicious, and Jungeun was stuffed. She sat next to Jiwoo and Jinsol at dinner. Haseul on Jiwoo’s right and Sooyoung on Jinsol’s left respectively. Jungeun wanted them to sit next to each other so she made the excuse of wanting to talk to her best friend. She was pleased to find that all five of them could have an easy conversation during dinner. So far, so good.

Now, all three of them had been dancing for the past half hour to a witch pop group that was currently performing, but Jungeun had gotten tired quickly, and there were too many sweaty, hot bodies in one spot. Being trapped in between Sooyoung and Jinsol still wasn’t enough for the occasional person to accidentally knock into her. So they sat down at one of the empty tables, breathing heavily in exhaustion.

“I love your hair,” Sooyoung complimented, running a hand through Jungeun’s tresses. “The color suits you well.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” Jinsol chimed in as she too began touching Jungeun’s hair. “You look like a lioness.”

Jungeun chuckled. “I’m guessing that’s a good thing?”

“You are the mascot of your own house,” Jinsol agreed.

Sooyoung pulled her hand out of Jungeun’s hair and rested it on Jungeun’s thigh. Jungeun noticed how Jinsol tensed slightly but then moved to put her hand on Jungeun’s other hand. She narrowed her eyes. They seemed to be copying each other, refusing to let the other outdo the other. Interesting. Very interesting.

“They don’t have houses at your school, right, Jinsol?” Sooyoung asked with a perked brow. “I personally find the idea of houses trivial. Why sort someone based on their personality when personalities are so complex and different?”

Jinsol shook her head in disagreement. “No, they don’t have houses at Beauxbatons, but I went to Hogwarts for a semester and was sorted into Ravenclaw. I actually think houses can be good! They help you meet like-minded people, and it’s so much easier to make friends with like-minded people.”

“Oh… I see,” Sooyoung said. “What house do you guys think I would be in?”

“Slytherin,” Jungeun and Jinsol said without a second thought.

Sooyoung scowled. “Hey! You’re just saying that because I come from a family of dark wizards.”

“You come from a family of what now!?” Jungeun asked.

“Um…” Sooyoung bowed her head, avoiding Jungeun and Jinsol’s gaze. She let out a nervous laugh. “You know Durmstrang has a history of producing dark wizards. The Ha family are very notorious dark wizards. But that’s not me, I swear! I wouldn’t-” She grabbed Jungeun and Jinsol’s hands and gave them pleading looks. “All I want in life is to play Quidditch. I’ve never cared about the stupid reputation my family has. I want to better myself for them. So, please don’t hate me, or more than you already do in Jinsol’s case.”

Jinsol’s face slowly fell. “I don’t hate you,” she said quietly. 

“What?”

“Nothing! I didn’t say anything!” Jinsol’s cheeks turned red. “Is it getting hot in here? Or is it just me? Haha, let’s go outside! They have a rosebush hedge maze with fairy lights! I want to see the fairies up close!” The blonde was quick to hop to her feet and scurry off in the direction of the Entrance Hall.

Jungeun let out a soft sigh.  _ Oh, Jinsol, you sweet little thing,  _ Jungeun thought. She looked over at Sooyoung and nudged her shoulder gently, noticing the forlorn expression on her face. “Hey, everything okay?”

Sooyoung nodded.

Jungeun leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. “It’s okay, Soo. I don’t hate you.”

The older girl pulled her back in and wrapped her arms around Jungeun. “Thank you,” she whispered and kissed Jungeun once more.

“Gah, look at them, Yerim,” Yeojin barked from nearby. “They’re disgusting.”

Yerim whined. “I don’t think so! They’re very cute together just like us!”

She hated how annoying her two younger friends were. Jungeun looked up and glared at them. “Both of you, be quiet. Go spike the punch or something.”

Yeojin smirked. “Now that you’ve given the idea… Hyejoo! Hyejoo! Where is Hyejoo?

“Right here, idiots,” Hyejoo called out from another table, arm wrapped around Chaewon’s sleepy frame.

Chaewon smiled sleepily and waved at them.

Jungeun turned back to Sooyoung and smiled. “We should go after Jinsol,” she said, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. Sooyoung nodded and intertwined their fingers before leading Jungeun out of the Great Hall.

On their way out, they passed Heejin and Hyunjin, off in their own little world like they always were. They stopped briefly to greet them, but Hyunjin seemed eager for Sooyoung and Jungeun to leave them alone. Heejin said Hyunjin was trying to tell her something, so Jungeun took that as a cue to leave them be.

The night was cold and snow was covering the rose bushes in a thick blanket. Jungeun wasn’t surprised that none of the roses seemed like they were wilting. She smiled up at Sooyoung and leaned into her shoulder. “Beautiful night, huh?”

“Yeah. The snow and flowers are pretty,” Sooyoung agreed. Jungeun wanted to kiss the little snowflakes that landed on her lashes. “It’s amazing what magic can do. Make things grow when the temperature says otherwise.”

“I wonder if there are any mistletoes around here,” Jungeun thought out loud.

“Oh? Would you like to kiss under the mistletoe?”

Jungeun just smiled.

“Jungeun! Sooyoung! Over here!” Jinsol called excitedly, poking her head out from behind a hedge. “You gotta see this!”

Sooyoung chuckled quietly. “Blondie’s calling you. You should go.”

“She’s calling you too,” Jungeun reminded her pointedly.

Sooyoung let out a “tsk” and draped her arm over Jungeun’s shoulder as they walked over to where Jinsol was. The blonde was squatting by the hedge and taking a close look at the shimmering fairy lights. Her face was priceless like a kid in a candy store. Jinsol’s fascination with magical creatures would never not be fascinating.

Jungeun crept closer to Jinsol to see what she was looking at. Three fairies sitting on a small branch together, sparkling even brighter once they noticed that three people were looking at them.

“Fairies,” Jinsol breathed out, “I never thought I would be able to see one up so close. They’re so pretty, aren’t they?” She giggled and looked over at Jungeun and Sooyoung with the brightest expression. Honestly, Jungeun had never seen Jinsol so happy. “Fairies love it when you pay attention to them. They feed off of vanity. Look at that Sooyoung, you and those fairies might have a lot in common.”

Jungeun burst out laughing and covered her mouth while Sooyoung just rolled her eyes. “Very funny, Jung.”

“Fairies are pretty endangered too,” Jinsol remarked. “I’m a little annoyed they’re here. They should be put in more natural habitats so they can be with their eggs. They could die if they’re out here in the snow.” Her lips protruded into a pout as she placed her head on Jungeun’s shoulder.

Sooyoung raised a brow and laughed gently. “Ha, I didn’t know you were this knowledgeable about magical creatures. No wonder Professor Byun loves you.”

“I really want to be a magizoologist,” Jinsol replied. “Just as much as Jungeun wants to be an Auror.”

“You want to be an Auror, Jungeun?” Sooyoung asked, turning to her in surprise.

Jungeun nodded. “Yes, I do. Heejin and I want to be Aurors. We both worked hard so we could get the OWLs for it.”

“Admirable,” she said, running a hand through her dark hair. “A Magizoologist and an Auror. Cute.”

“Not as notorious as a professional Quidditch player, but we can’t all be celebrities,” Jinsol answered.

Sooyoung laughed. “I think you’d like me better if I wasn’t one.”

“Yeah, actually? That’s right.”

“Too bad.”

Jungeun rolled her eyes. Their bickering wasn’t as mean as it usually was, but it was still there. She would take playful banter over trying to kill each other. Over her head, she noticed a small green plant with little red berries start to grow over them. A mistletoe. As much as she wanted to kiss Jinsol or even Sooyoung right now, she could wait. She had other plans. 

While Sooyoung and Jinsol continued their conversation, she took a few steps back and pulled her wand out of her pocket.  _ “Herbivicus,”  _ she whispered, smiling in delight when the mistletoe flourished into full bloom. She cleared her throat and put her wand back into her pocket. “Mistletoe,” she pointed out with a big shit-eating grin.

Jinsol furrowed her brows and then looked up. “What!? How? Why!?” Her cheeks flushed red. “How did that get there?”

“You know what that means, Jung…”

“I’m not kissing you, Sooyoung! Fuck off!”

“You have to,” Sooyoung said, grinning. She seemed to be enjoying this way too much. She took a confident step forward and leaned against the hedge, tilting her head while looking at Jinsol. “C’mon, Jinsol, maybe we just need to release the tension between us?”

Jinsol choked on her breath. “T-Tension?” she gasped. She turned to Jungeun with a panicked look. “Jungeun, hey, are you hearing this? You don’t actually think I should kiss her, right?”

“Well…” Jungeun shrugged. “Maybe Sooyoung is right. You need to release the tension,” she lied. No, she really just wanted to watch them kiss, but don’t tell anyone she said that.

Sooyoung wiggled her eyebrows. “See, Jinsol? If our Jungeun agrees with me, then you have to say yes.”

_ “Our _ Jungeun?”

“We’re sharing her tonight, right? So tonight, we share her. But starting tomorrow, she’s mine again,” Sooyoung said.

“She’s not yours!” Jinsol growled. “She admitted her feelings to me! We’re going to date!”

“But are you dating now?”

“No…?”

“Exactly, so she’s still fair game.”

_ This is actually kind of fun to watch,  _ Jungeun thought.  _ Didn’t know I was all that to both of them. _

Jinsol’s nostrils flared. “Shut up. Just shut up!”

“Make me,” Sooyoung challenged, leaning in even closer to Jinsol’s face.

Jungeun didn’t expect Jinsol to be the one to make the first move, but she did. She grabbed Sooyoung’s face and brought their lips together for a desperate kiss. And Jungeun could admit it was hot. They kissed aggressively, a lot more passionately than Jinsol and Sooyoung have kissed Jungeun. It was so fascinating. Sooyoung’s hands tangled in Jinsol’s hair while Jinsol’s hands slipped behind Sooyoung’s back to hold her close to her. Jinsol grunted when Sooyoung pulled on her hair a little too hard and squeezed her back harshly in retaliation.

The fascination soon turned into neediness. The attention wasn’t on her anymore, and Jungeun missed it. Why were they kissing for so long?

She accidentally let out a needy screeching noise. She cringed. What was wrong with her? She sounded like a cat. Jungeun covered her mouth and hid her rosy cheeks as Jinsol and Sooyoung broke their kiss and looked at Jungeun with bewilderment and amusement respectively.

Sooyoung snorted. “Did you just make that noise?”

“No,” Jungeun denied quickly.

“Jungie, don’t lie to us,” Jinsol said with a grin.

“Oh my gosh, fine, I was a little annoyed that I wasn’t the center of attention for two seconds. Can you blame me?” Jungeun huffed and crossed her arms. “Leave me alone.”

“Hey, Jungeun.”

“What?”

“Mistletoe.”

Jungeun blinked slowly and looked above her. Sure enough, a mistletoe had grown over her head. She could’ve sworn she saw Sooyoung pocketing her wand. She laughed in disbelief and shook her head. “What are you going to do? Kiss me at the same time? No way. It doesn’t work like that.”

“Hey, Jung, last person to kiss Jungeun is a rotten egg,” Sooyoung grinned before barreling towards Jungeun.

“Wait, no-”

Jinsol huffed and ran at Jungeun too. “Come feel my love, baby!”

Jungeun screamed and took off into a run into the hedge maze. “Noooo! Stop!” She could hear Sooyoung on her tail. Before she could turn the corner, Sooyoung scooped her up into her arms and planted a big kiss on her lips. Jungeun whined while Sooyoung held her in place so Jinsol could come up and kiss her too.

She scowled once Jinsol pulled away. “You both suck,” she said,

“At kissing? I know you’re lying, babygirl,” Sooyoung teased.

Jungeun huffed. “No, just…” She laughed and shook her head. Her annoyance was nothing compared to the immense joy she felt by just being in their presence. She never expected to have this much fun at the Yule Ball. “We should probably go back in, right? What if people wonder where we are? I’m also a little cold.”

Jinsol nodded and kissed Jungeun’s cheek. “Okay, Jungeun, whatever you want. It’s your world, baby, I’m just living in it.”

Jungeun smiled gratefully and grabbed both of their hands to walk with them back into the Great Hall.

She hoped that things could stay this way between the three of them because Jungeun knew she was falling for both of them very fast. The thought of choosing between them made her sicker and sicker.

If things fell apart, she would certainly be devastated, unsure if she would ever truly be able to make Sooyoung and Jinsol like each other. Then what?

Jungeun hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you guys liked this chapter!! they're very cute, and i hope this lipvesoul centric chapter satisfied a lot of people! next chapter, i can't say what's gonna go down yet, but feelings are going to be confronted and brought into light. stay tuned!
> 
> twitter:  
> @hyeiipves  
> curious cat:  
> curiouscat.me/hyeslipse


	9. EIGHT: COME SEEK WHERE OUR VOICES SOUND

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is SOOOOO long, but i thought you guys deserved a long chapter. please read the endnotes after you've finished because it contains important information!

“So you two are together now?” Jungeun asked.

Haseul and Jiwoo looked at each other, swinging their joined hands.

Jiwoo nodded with a satisfied smile. “We’re going to take things slow for now. But both of us had a great time during the Yule Ball.”

“We kissed,” Haseul giggled excitedly, bringing Jiwoo’s hand up and pressing a kiss to the back of it. Jungeun wanted to barf. She had never seen her friends so disgustingly happy. It was literally a crime. But even after everything, she was glad that they could finally be together. Jiwoo had cried enough nights over Haseul.

It was the new year, and that meant Heejin had returned to her rightful status as a Hogwarts student. Jungeun and Jiwoo nearly squealed in joy when they saw Heejin moving back into her old bed sporting her old Gryffindor robes. Jungeun was glad to have her best friend back. Throughout the rest of winter break, Jungeun divided her time between her friends and Jinsol and Sooyoung.

Something had shifted, Jungeun noticed. The interactions between Sooyoung and Jinsol had sort of transformed from snarky arguments and banter into complete silent treatment. Neither seemed to want to acknowledge each other and when they did, they were weirdly polite. It scared Jungeun. She felt like she was waiting for a time bomb to explode.

The Yule Ball had been the happiest she had been in a while. The last thing she wanted was the good feelings that came from that to be destroyed. She liked it when Jinsol and Sooyoung smiled at each other the same way they would smile at her. But maybe all of that was wishful thinking. All this turmoil and wondering and speculating about how Sooyoung and Jinsol really felt yet she hadn’t communicated her own feelings to both of them.

This was more than just a complicated love triangle situation because Jungeun never wanted it to be a love triangle in the first place.

So, it was better if Jungeun kept her distance and focused on them individually. At least, for now. When she was ready, she would tell them how she felt. She could put off diving into unknown waters for now, right?

Haseul, Jiwoo, and Jungeun were walking around the castle, enjoying their last day of break before they had to start wearing their stuffy robes and be swamped with piles of homework. This was the only time Jungeun actually felt fine with third-wheeling.

“I’m happy for both of you,” Jungeun remarked as they turned the corner to enter the fifth floor corridor. “And good riddance, I have to say. I can’t believe it took Jiwoo that long to confess her feelings.”

Jiwoo scowled. “Hey! You are in no place to talk, and you know it.”

Jungeun ignored her because she didn’t feel like affirming Jiwoo’s statement. She would rather play the silent game.

“Unbelievable,” Jiwoo huffed while rolling her eyes.

They passed the prefects’ bathroom, a place Jungeun noticed Haseul had been frequenting lately. She heard rumors from Yeojin and Yerim that she would take the golden egg in there and spend hours in there only to come out exhausted and frustrated. Yeojin joked that she had bowel movements, to which Yerim merely replied, “That’s so distasteful, Yeojin. Show some respect.”

Jungeun raised a brow. “Say, Haseul, Yeojin tells me you’ve been in the prefects’ bathroom a lot lately. Is everything okay?”

“You’re not constipated, are you?” Jiwoo asked worriedly, reaching up to pinch Haseul’s cheeks. “Do you need to go to the Hospital Wing? Drink some prune juice?”

“No!” Haseul replied, clearly horrified. “Everything’s fine… down there! I’ve just been… I’ve just been struggling to figure out the clue in the golden egg. I can’t get it to stop screaming,” she explained with a huff. She took Jiwoo’s hands again and shook her head. “I think I’ve almost got it though. I’m not very good with riddles.”

“Riddles!?”

“Uh, nothing…”

Just then, the door leading from the Grand Staircase burst open in front of them, and out came Yerim with a terrified look on her face. “Oh my god! Haseul, thank goodness! You gotta come quickly. Students are dueling in the Paved Courtyard!”

Haseul groaned and ran a hand through her short hair, a look of clear annoyance on her previously cheerful face. “Gosh, I thought today was my day off! Who’s dueling? Yeojin and Hyejoo again?”

“No! Go look!” Yerim pointed at the small arched windows near the floor. One thing annoying about the fifth floor corridor was the fact that if you wanted to look outside at the courtyard below, you would have to get on your hands and knees and crawl into the small archway to see down below. This was why Jungeun preferred to hang out in the fourth floor corridor.

The four girls crouched near the stained glass windows to look at the snowy courtyard below them. Jungeun pressed her hands against the window. Cold, just as she suspected. She noticed two figures furiously casting spells at each other surrounded by a crowd of students cheering on the duel.

“Yerim, do you have your Omnioculars?” Jiwoo asked.

The Hufflepuff prefect nodded and pulled them out of her book bag. Jungeun snatched them and held them up to her face to examine the duel below. If this was a movie, a horror chord would strike at this very moment. 

Jungeun swore loudly and let out a distressed screech. “Those aren’t just two students. That’s… That’s…” She zoomed in even closer, watching the girl on the right dodge a fire stream coming out of the girl on the left’s wand. “Sooyoung and Jinsol.”

“You’re joking,” Jiwoo laughed nervously.

“I’m not,” Jungeun replied, hopping to her feet. She shoved the Omnioculars back into Yerim’s hands and took off into a run, pushing open the door to the fifth floor landing and barreling down the stairs.

“Where are you going!?” Haseul screamed after her.

Jungeun didn’t care. She had to stop Jinsol and Sooyoung before they hurt each other. She hopped onto the railing and slid down it, taking care not to lose her balance and fall.

“Jungeun! Please use the stairs properly!” Jiwoo yelled from above her. The three of them were running after her no doubt.

“If you’re going to stop them from dueling, you must be very stupid!” Yerim’s sweet voice rang out. Only she could make an insult sound like a compliment.

She laughed and shook her head, brushing her auburn hair out of her face as she continued to slide down each railing. “I may be dumb, but I’m not stupid.”

“Isn’t that basically the same thing, Jungeun!?” Haseul asked.

Jungeun finally reached the Entrance Hall and pushed the doors open outside at record speed. It was freezing cold outside, and yeah, maybe Jungeun should’ve worn a coat, but she didn’t plan on recklessly running outside to stop her two crushes from killing each other. She ran along the side of the castle, the large archway into the Paved Courtyard looming ahead. She skidded to a halt when she stopped in front of the entrance.

The crowds were too big to see over. Too thick to weave her way through without any resistance. Still, she had to try. So, she squeezed her way into the crowd, keeping her eyes trained on Sooyoung and Jinsol, tired, but still ready to destroy each other.

_ How did it come to this?  _ Jungeun thought to herself, watching the scene unfold in front of her. Caught in the crowd of students in the courtyard, she didn’t need to guess how much damage had been done. She should’ve never left them alone.

_ “Impedimenta!” _

“Surprised you haven’t tried a dark curse on me, Ha. I know you can do better than that,” Jinsol’s haggard voice rang out.

Sooyoung laughed snarkily. “I could  _ ruin  _ you if I wanted to.”

Jungeun narrowed her eyes and pushed forward, desperate to stop them from hurting each other even more.  _ How did it come to this?  _ turned into  _ How do I fix this?  _ as Jungeun’s heart pounded in fear.

“Stop! Stop!” she cried over the cheering and jeering of the students around her. And without thinking, she barreled towards the two girls who held her affections to stop the duel.

A flash of light appeared in her peripheral vision, and Jungeun feared the worst, diving to the ground to avoid being caught in the crossfire. She winced, watching Sooyoung and Jinsol point their wands at each other threateningly, anticipating each other’s next move.

This was not how things were supposed to go.

“Jungeun! Jungeun! Get out of there, you idiot!” Jiwoo cried.

Jungeun’s eyes scanned the crowd. It seemed like everyone was here. Everyone except a freaking professor who could actually stop the duel. Hyejoo and Chaewon, clinging to each other and watching the duel with wide eyes. Heejin, Hyunjin, and Yeojin, actively entertained and egging on the fight as much as possible.

She climbed to her feet and held her hands out to the side as if she were trying to calm them. “Soo… Soul… please,” she said in a shaky voice.

Jinsol and Sooyoung finally acknowledged her presence.

“Jungeun!?” Jinsol gasped. “What are you doing here-”

“Get out, Jungeun!” Sooyoung cut her off, a desperate look in her eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you. This is between Jinsol and I. Get out of the way.”

Jinsol’s nostrils flared. “If you hurt her, I swear, Sooyoung…”

Sooyoung glared at her. “Shut up! How in your right mind would you think that I would hurt her? After what I just told you? I wouldn’t hurt a hair on her head.” She turned and pointed her want at Jinsol. “You, on the other hand, I’m so sick of your shit. Getting in my way and complicating things with your stupid pretty face and your stupid pretty smile! I would-”

_ “Petrificus Totalus!” _

Sooyoung reacted quickly to Jinsol’s sudden spell casting.  _ “Levicorpus!” _

Both of them, distracted by their argument, didn’t have time to dodge each other’s attack. Sooyoung froze and became frigid, falling down onto the courtyard like a wooden plank. Jinsol, meanwhile, was suspended in the air upside down, shirt riding up so everyone could see her tummy.

The students watching roared with laughter.

“Jungeun! Help me down!” Jinsol cried out in embarrassment.

Jungeun moved Jinsol’s side, but her eyes stayed trained on Sooyoung’s petrified body. She wanted to run over to her to see if she was okay. Her mind was buzzing with confusion. Sooyoung and Jinsol must have been having an argument before the duel. Something about her. Or each other. Whatever it was, Jungeun really wanted to know about it. Maybe it would answer all her burning questions about their feelings.

“What is going on here!?” Professor Taemin asked in horror, flanked by both Miss Sunmi and Madame Bae. The crowd of students parted to allow the three heads of the schools to walk into the circle and take in the scene. “Everyone! Disperse! Out of the courtyard now!” he ordered. “Sunmi, please free Miss Ha and take her back to the ship. Irene, do the same with Miss Jung.”

_ “Liberacorpus!”  _ Madame Bae waved her wand and stared at Jinsol blankly as she fell down onto the ground hard. She grabbed the girl’s arm and began yelling at her in rapid French. Jinsol looked at her wide-eyed and confused, still dazed after all that blood rushed to her head. She turned back to Jungeun and smiled sadly. Jungeun smiled back just as sadly. She hoped Jinsol would be okay. She didn’t want either of them to be hurt after the duel.

Miss Sunmi unfroze Sooyoung and helped her to her feet. She wrapped an arm around Sooyoung and took off in the opposite direction. Sooyoung gave Jungeun a soft look. She pushed Sunmi away and tried to approach Jungeun, but Sunmi pulled her back, leaving Sooyoung pouting. Jungeun loved how adorable Sooyoung could be. Except she was kind of mad at her now. Jinsol, too. Both of them were on her anger list. Why were they dueling? What was the point of that? 

She really thought she was getting somewhere in mending Sooyoung and Jinsol’s relationship, but maybe she had it all wrong. And now, they were back to square one. Maybe they never left square one in the first place. She had never felt so defeated. There was no way she could ever confess their feelings properly for both of them now.

“And you, Kim Jungeun,” Professor Taemin said with a firm tone, “my office, now.”

Jungeun was terrified of the implications of that instruction.

* * *

Jungeun had hoped in her seven years at Hogwarts, she would never end up in the headmaster’s office. Her fragile reputation of being a goody-two-shoes had to be maintained especially after Jiwoo got to be a prefect. Out of her friends, Yeojin, Chaewon, and Hyejoo had all been forced to go to the headmaster’s office at least one time for getting into trouble. She didn’t expect to join them on that list.

Jungeun wanted to cry. Why was she being punished for a duel she had no involvement in?

Professor Taemin’s office was huge, filled with interesting wizarding equipment, portraits of past headmasters and headmistresses on the wall. She noticed a small altar-like piece of furniture with a silver bowl. Okay, maybe she should come in here more often. The stuff in Professor Taemin’s office was so cool.

“Have a seat, Jungeun,” he said, walking around his desk and plopping down on his comfy chair. “Do you want some candy? I have some Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavored Beans.”

Jungeun shrugged, figuring if she was going to get expelled she might as well have some candy before she had to pack her bags. “Sure,” she said tentatively, taking some beans out of the small golden bowl he held out for her.

She popped them all in her mouth, nearly gagging at the disgusting combination of cherry, soap, and soy sauce.

“That’s why you don’t eat them together. They aren’t jellybeans,” Professor Taemin joked.

Jungeun just grimaced. “Yeah… I realize my mistake now.” She took a deep breath and sat down in the chair across from the headmaster. “Why am I here?”

“Oh, yes, about that…” He cleared his throat. “I think everyone and their mother knows about Sooyoung and Jinsol’s rivalry, and lately, it’s gotten worse. I don’t know what we were thinking, implementing that rule that they could hurt each other in the first task. It’s gotten to the point where Miss Wong tells me an international wizarding diplomacy crisis is in our midst.”

_ And what does this have to do with me?  _ Jungeun wanted to say, but she knew better than to interrupt the headmaster of Hogwarts.

“The point is… if anyone’s going to stop them from arguing so much that they’ll kill each other, it’s you,” he continued. “You are very close to them, right?”

“Yes…”

“That’s what I thought. I was a little confused when you decided to take both of them to the Yule Ball, but it’s not my business to get involved in students’ relationships,” Professor Taemin laughed. “Could you perhaps be the reason why they’ve been arguing?”

Jungeun tensed in her seat, gripping the armrests and shaking her head. “Sir, I really don’t think that’s any of your business like you just said.”

“Fair point, fair point,” he sighed. His eyes briefly moved around the room before resting on Jungeun’s again. “But if it is the case, I’m counting on you to fix this. If you can’t get them to at least be peaceful by the second task, we’ll have no choice to disqualify them for disorderly conduct. We can’t have champions dueling each other in the courtyard. I’m sure you understand, Jungeun. It sullies the honor of the Triwizard Tournament. This is supposed to be a friendly competition, but it has turned into a deathmatch. Think of the publications! Hogwarts’ reputation!”

“Sir, you can’t expect me to know how to fix that!” Jungeun protested. “I care about both of them, but I have no idea how to even- This isn’t fair!”

“I wouldn’t have asked you to do this if I didn’t have the utmost faith in you,” Professor Taemin said. “I mean it. Because… the second task, they’ll need to work together. If they can’t work together, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang have no chance of winning, and that’s not a fair competition.”

Jungeun considered his words. What did he even mean? The second task was so far ahead, but if there was so much concern about Sooyoung and Jinsol’s conduct that it could cause a diplomacy disaster… well, Jungeun couldn’t hold off admitting her feelings. She had to get them to stop fighting for good. No more shaky truces. She wouldn’t be the reason why they couldn’t participate in the tournament fairly.

“How am I supposed to do this, sir?”

Professor Taemin smiled. “You could start by helping them figure out the second task. Or get them to apologize to each other. Explain the necessity of the situation. I don’t know why they hate each other, maybe you do, but you better figure this out, Jungeun.” He shrugged. “I mean, that’s all you can do… prepare them for the task because well- you can’t exactly help them during it. In fact, you and your friend Kim Jiwoo won’t be there. I have yet to speak to her about it, but do us a favor and don’t mention it until I call you both to my office.”

Jungeun’s heart sank. What did he mean? This was so weird. Relying on a sixteen year old girl to make sure the tournament runs smoothly then telling her that she and Jiwoo wouldn’t be there for the task. “I don’t understand…”

“Figure out the second task, and you’ll understand,” he said cryptically. “Now, please, for all of our sake, get your two friends to settle down. I really hope we can have a fair competition for the Triwizard Cup.”

Jungeun hoped so too.

* * *

Jinsol and Sooyoung’s duel got them banned from the mid-January trip to Hogsmeade. So tragically, Jungeun had to tag along with her coupled-up friends. It was a cold, snowy day, two weeks since Professor Taemin asked her basically to try and fix Jinsol and Sooyoung’s relationship before the second task. She had no idea what to do or why she was being asked to do it. She cared about both of them a lot, but she wasn’t an idiot. If they didn’t want to be close to each other, maybe she should stop trying. There was no point in forcing a lost cause to happen. But she had to try, just once more, for herself and the Triwizard Tournament.

The tournament meant too much to both of them for them to be disqualified because they fought like two immature children. Over Jungeun? To be determined.

“It’s a shame Jinsol and Sooyoung couldn’t come,” Jiwoo remarked as she walked with Jungeun and their friend group down High Street to head back to the castle.

“I don’t know what they were thinking breaking out into a duel like that,” Heejin remarked.

Jungeun sighed. “I don’t know either, but I’m so frustrated, and I know this all would’ve never happened if I got my shit together and told them my feelings. I know they think I like both of them and I’m taking a hell of a long time to decide between them. That has to be it, right? But what they should know is that I like them, and I want to be with both of them. I’m not going to  _ pick  _ between them.”

Chaewon laughed shortly, brushing her blonde hair to the side. “Jungeun, have you ever, I don’t know, told anyone this? Because this is the first time I’ve heard any sort of admittance to you wanting to date both of them.” She shook her head and gave her a knowing look. “Jungeun, you’re just playing out scenarios in your head and somehow those scenarios become reality. You have no idea what they actually think. How do they know that you like both of them? You’re just assuming that you know what they think. The stupidity you’re exhibiting is astronomical.”

“Well, here’s what they do know: I like Jinsol. I like Sooyoung. I went to the Yule Ball with both of them.”

“Exactly,” Chaewon laughed. “Where the hell do they get that information you said they had?”

Jungeun didn’t know how to respond to that.

“They have their own assumptions about what’s going on. They probably think they’re supposed to be fighting over you. That’s why they’re fighting too. Yes, this would’ve been solved if you actually expressed your feelings,” Chaewon continued.

Jungeun groaned. “So you’re saying it is my fault that they could be disqualified from the Triwizard Tournament.”

“Well, you didn’t exactly cause the duel, but I can bet twelve galleons that you had something to do with it,” Heejin added on.

Jungeun had never felt dumber. “Someone slap me.”

Jiwoo smacked her hard.

“Ow!? Jiwoo, I didn’t mean seriously!”

Jiwoo smiled and rubbed the red spot on Jungeun’s cheek. “The good news is that this is fixable, right? That’s why Professor Taemin tasked you with it! You just have to get them alone together and tell them exactly what you just told us. You like both of them, and you want to date both of them. Why is that so scary?”

“Because I know they hate each other, and I don’t want them to hate me because I like both of them,” Jungeun said sheepishly. “What if they decide I’m worthless and ditch me? I don’t even deserve any forgiveness. I’m so nervous.”

“Hey,” Jiwoo said with an encouraging smile. “Don’t say that. You can fix this, Jungeun. It’s not too late. They both like you a lot. You know they do. That’s not going to go away instantly.”

Jungeun knew Jiwoo was right. She knew because even after the duel, Jinsol was as clingy as ever, peppering soft kisses to her cheek and grabbing her hand in the hallway. They were practically dating anyway. Jungeun just never said anything, but Jinsol always seemed to understand her even when she didn’t speak. Maybe Jinsol knew deep down that Jungeun liked her and Sooyoung and had accepted that. She was okay with pretending everything was fine, safe, and warm in the embrace of Jung Jinsol.

And when the night fell, Sooyoung was there to sweep her off her feet. Long talks in dark corridors walking hand in hand. Sooyoung pulling Jungeun close to her and pressing her lips to hers. She had never felt more wanted than when Sooyoung gave her as much attention and affection as possible. Maybe that was why Sooyoung held her extra tight before they parted ways because she would end up back in Jinsol’s arms. 

And here Jungeun went again, speculating about something she had no idea if it was true or not. The only way this would be solved if she would just talk to them.

“They do,” Jungeun said softly. “Okay, I need to figure out how to fix this.”

“Finally, sheesh,” Chaewon groaned.

They were nearing the gates of Hogwarts now. Up ahead, Jungeun could see Haseul and her group of Hufflepuff seventh year friends. An idea popped into her normally very empty brain. Haseul would know how to fix this. She seemed to have a solution for every problem. She turned to her friends and gave them a soft smile. “I’ll see you guys later. I need to ask Haseul something.”

As Jungeun quickened her pace to catch up with her, she heard Heejin snort behind her, “Even though she’s not with Sooyoung or Jinsol, she still finds a way to ditch us.”

Jungeun breathed heavily and furiously tapped Haseul on the shoulder. “Hey! Haseul!” she greeted. The shorter girl turned around and gave Jungeun a bright smile. “Can we talk for a second?”

“Sure thing. Don’t wait up for me, guys! I’ll meet you at the castle,” she called to her friends before facing her again. “How’s it going, Jungeun?”

“Have you figured out the clue in the egg?” Jungeun asked.

Haseul nodded, tilting her head to the side. “I have… Took me forever, but I finally figured out what the next task is.” She furrowed her brows. “Although, I’m not entirely sure what she means by-”

“Listen, can I borrow the egg?” Jungeun cut her off. She exhaled softly. “See, the thing is, Jinsol and Sooyoung’s duel has caused an uproar. Professor Taemin told me if I don’t get them on amicable terms, then they won’t be able to participate in the Triwizard Tournament.”

“But I thought there was no backing out of the tournament no matter what? The goblet chooses the champions. Under no circumstances may they be removed-”

“It’s just what he told me!” Jungeun practically yelled, running a hand through her hair. “Please, Haseul, I really need your help. Don’t you want a fair competition?”

Haseul hummed in thought. “Well, yeah, but how is the golden egg going to stop them from fighting each other?”

Jungeun shrugged. “One step at a time. I have an idea though. I think…”

“This is either going to be the most idiotic or the best thing I have ever done for you,” her best friend let out an agitated sigh. “But fine, because I really care about you all and hope the three of you can work out your differences to finally all be together. Meet me outside the kitchens after dinner. I’ll give you the egg then.”

The Gryffindor let out a squeal in delight and threw her arms around the Hufflepuff. “Oh, thank you! Thank you, thank you! Thank you!” Then, she paused, realization hitting her. She pulled away and gave Haseul a bizarre look. “How did you know about…”

The older girl chuckled and poked Jungeun’s nose. “I know how crazy you are over Jinsol and Sooyoung. And well, as for them, you can’t be that bothered by another person and not want to jump their bones.”

“HASEUL!”

“I’m just saying there’s gotta be more to their hatred! Sooyoung and Jinsol are constantly eye-fucking each other when the other isn’t looking.”

Jungeun refused to believe her. There was no way that Sooyoung and Jinsol could secretly like each other, right? Then, why did they start dueling each other? But it would make sense… No, Chaewon warned her not to make up scenarios in her head and pretend it was real.

She rolled her eyes. “Thanks for your help again.” She turned back and smirked, noticing Jiwoo, Heejin, and Chaewon finally catching up. “Here comes your girlfriend,” she teased before skipping away and leaving Haseul behind as red as a beet.

Slowly, her plan was coming together. Now, she needed to find a way to get Jinsol and Sooyoung to agree to be in the same room with each other.

* * *

With the golden egg secured, all Jungeun had to do now was find an excuse to hang out with both Sooyoung and Jinsol together. But the golden egg was becoming a big problem, Yeri, being the little shit that she was, decided to open the egg in the middle of the night and wake up their entire dormitory.

“Yeri! What the hell is wrong with you?” Jiwon cried, covering her head with the pillow.

Heejin rubbed her eyes. “I don’t miss this. I’m about two seconds from going back to Beauxbatons.

“Five points from Gryffindor…” Jiwoo mumbled sleepily, and Jungeun seriously hoped she wouldn’t find Gryffindor’s hourglass with five fewer rubies in the morning. Spoiler alert: there were, in fact, five fewer rubies. Curse Jiwoo being a prefect.

Jungeun had been scheming and planning, trying her best to figure out how to get Sooyoung and Jinsol in the same place.

“You could bring them to the Room of Requirement,” Yeojin suggested one morning at breakfast, face stuffed with eggs and bacon.

Yerim laughed and shook her head, stroking Yeojin’s hair gently. “Yeojin, babe, she needs to figure out how to get them in the same place. They would all have to go to the Room of Requirement together.”

Hyejoo, clearly disgusted by the display of affection by her two friends, moved to put an arm around Chaewon. Chaewon stiffened and moved Hyejoo’s arm away. Jungeun noticed that something was off between the two of them. Something must have happened at the Yule Ball that nobody knew about because their affection for each other had diminished greatly. Jungeun knew she would have to ask Chaewon about that later, but Jungeun had her own relationship problems she needed to fix.

Although her friends’ advice was nice, Jungeun knew she would have to figure this out on her own. She was the one who knew Sooyoung and Jinsol best.

And then it hit her, she had to do what she’d been doing the entire time. Asking Sooyoung and Jinsol to meet in the same place, and Jungeun acting ignorant that she asked them both to hang out with her at the same time. Except this time, Jungeun would not act ignorant. She was doing this on purpose. Her birthday was coming up too. She couldn’t think of a better way to spend her seventeenth birthday with Sooyoung and Jinsol and talking about her feelings. 

Okay, maybe that was a little sarcastic because that thought was actually terrifying and definitely risky. Her whole birthday could be ruined in seconds if Jinsol and Sooyoung refused to listen to her and rejected her feelings. But maybe she could use her birthday as an excuse for them to stay. Oh, her plan was really coming together now.

After her last class of the day got out, Jungeun walked with newfound determination. Find Jinsol. Find Sooyoung. Convince them to meet her at the prefect’s bathroom for some bath time “fun.” She would let their imagination put together the rest. 

No, but actually, she was bringing them to the bathroom because she knew Haseul must’ve figured out her clue in there; therefore, the secret to the egg was definitely in the prefect’s bathroom. They could have some “fun” after they figure out the task, and Jungeun confessed her feelings.

Really, she was just killing two birds with one stone. This was probably the smartest thing she would ever do concerning Sooyoung and Jinsol. Her brain wasn’t totally empty, it seemed.

As she finally reached the top of the spiral staircase that led to the dungeon, her eyes lit up with glee when she saw Jinsol sitting on a bench, nose buried in a book. She was wearing glasses too.  _ Oh, god,  _ Jungeun thought.  _ She’s so cute without even trying.  _

The look of determination shifted to one of glee as she sauntered over to her favorite blonde and took a seat right next to her. Even though Jungeun made a lot of noise sitting down, Jinsol didn’t budge at all. Her eyes were laser-focused on that damn book. Jungeun, obviously hating when the attention wasn’t on her for two seconds, cleared her throat loudly and smacked Jinsol’s arm.

“Wah!” Jinsol let out a surprised noise. She blinked, pushing her glasses up before turning to look at Jungeun. “Jungeun, what was that for? I was reading!”

Jungeun just shrugged and leaned in, kissing Jinsol’s lips gently. “I know, but I saw you and decided to approach you. I missed you. Our paths don’t cross very often.”

“I see you at least once a day.”

“It should be more often than that,” Jungeun huffed, “but I suppose the great Beauxbatons Champion Jung Jinsol is too busy for her favorite Hogwarts student.” She nudged Jinsol. “My birthday is coming up soon. You know that, right?”

Jinsol’s face lit up in excitement. “Oh, yes! Thank you for reminding me. I have to buy you a gift. What do you want,  _ ma chère?  _ Books? Robes? Candy? How about a few owl treats? I’ll get you whatever you want for your special day.”

“You know I’m not really one for gifts,” Jungeun mumbled, feeling a little awkward because Jinsol seemed so excited to give her whatever she wanted. “Just go with your gut.”

The blonde nodded and shifted in her seat, closing the book. “Valentine’s Day isn’t far behind…”

_ I almost forgot about that,  _ Jungeun thought.  _ Shit, is she going to ask me about plans? What do I tell her? _

“It is...” Jungeun trailed off.

“Maybe we can celebrate both of those together on the 12th? Just the two of us.  _ You and me.  _ No one else,” Jinsol said, slowly speaking those last words in emphasis, and Jungeun had a pretty strong suspicion it was because she didn’t want a repeat of the Yule Ball.

And to be fair, Jungeun should really stop dropping all these surprises on both of them, but they were just so fun!

“The 12th works,” Jungeun nodded. “I’m alright with that.”

Jinsol squealed in excitement and surged forward, planting a big kiss on Jungeun’s now rosy cheek. “It’s a date!”

“Can’t wait…”

Jungeun’s eyes widened as she remembered why she was here in the first place, not to make date plans and get lost in Jung Jinsol’s enchanting smile. “Actually, Sol, I’ve got another thing I want to talk about.”

Her head tilted to the side as she looked at Jungeun curiously. “What’s up?”

“Have you figured out what the next task is?”

“No, I’m stumped,” Jinsol sighed in defeat. “I’ve spent hours in the library doing research. Look at how pathetic I am!” She held up the blue book in her lap. “I’m reading old history books about older Triwizard Tournaments and hoping that there are clues there. This was so much easier when-”

“-Madame Bae took you into the Forbidden Forest and showed you the Hungarian Horntail.”

Jinsol’s eyes widened, and she cleared her throat. “Woah, wait, how did you know about that!?”

Jungeun just gave her a look.

“Vivi,” they said at the exact same time.

“That’s why Haseul didn’t seem that fazed when they told us we were facing a dragon!” Jinsol gasped. “Why am I not surprised? It’s literally… It’s literally tradition to cheat in this tournament.” She flipped open the book and pointed to a spot on the page. “It says so right here. Page 145.”

“Well,” Jungeun said with a smile, “I am offering you another chance to cheat.” She laughed at how silly her own words sounded. “Haseul was kind enough to lend me the golden egg. She’s already figured out the clue. And since this is the only solid concrete hint for the task, I figured maybe I can help you out!”

As soon as she finished her sentence, Jinsol threw her arms around her, practically tackling her into a tight hug. “Oh, Jungeun! You are the best! You would really help me out with this? Every day I find myself more and more enamored with you,” she gushed. She kissed Jungeun again. Even though they had been “more than friends” for a while, Jungeun still got flustered every time Jinsol kissed her in public. “Where’s the egg?” she asked.

Jungeun laughed. “I didn’t bring it with me, silly. We have to go somewhere to open the egg. Haseul was using the Prefects’ Bathroom, so I was thinking we could go there. Don’t worry, you’re allowed in.”

_ “Magnifique,”  _ Jinsol breathed out. “So, when am I meeting you at the Prefects’ Bathroom?”

“Hmmm…” Jungeun thought. “After dinner? Maybe around 7?”

“Should I bring anything…”

“Well, something you don’t mind getting wet in,” Jungeun remarked, then turning a bright red at the implications of her sentence. “I mean… we’ll be getting into the bathtub probably if we’re going to utilize something in the bathroom that helps us with the clue. It’d be the bath, right?”

Jinsol nodded. “Sounds about right.”

“Okay, cool. I’ll see you then?”

“Mhm,” Jinsol hummed. “I’m going to go back to reading this history book even if I don’t need to anymore. It’s actually  _ very  _ interesting.”

Gosh, she was so cute.

One down, one more to go.

Where would Sooyoung even be on an afternoon after classes ended?

* * *

Turned out, Jungeun didn’t have to look very far to find Sooyoung standing in the stairwell talking to a blushing Hogwarts student just outside the Charms corridor. Yes, Jungeun knew Sooyoung was a total heartthrob. No, she didn’t like it when girls were all over  _ her  _ heartthrob.

She kept it as classy as possible when she walked up to Sooyoung and hugged her from behind. Sooyoung flinched in surprise before turning around to take Jungeun into her arms. “Hey, babygirl. I didn’t expect to see you before dinner,” she greeted.

Jungeun giggled and hugged her back. “I was looking for you.”

“Should I go?” the Hogwarts student asked, eyes glued to the two figures that were hugging each other so tightly that there was no space in between them.

Sooyoung smiled politely at her. “Yes, sorry, I’m a little busy at the moment. But thank you for stopping by!”

When the girl walked away, Jungeun burst out laughing. “Oh my god, Soo, that was so rude. I’m the one who interrupted your conversation!”

“Any second longer, and you would’ve been whining for attention like the cute little puppy that you are,” Sooyoung pointed out, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She pulled away and grabbed Jungeun’s hand. “Walk with me? I’m about to head to the library.”

Wherever Sooyoung went, Jungeun would follow. That was a no brainer.

The two girls walked together holding hands, ignoring the obnoxious stares from students who definitely couldn’t wrap their heads around Jungeun being so affectionate with two rival champions. They were just as confused as Jungeun about the status of her own relationship, and that spoke volumes.

“Word around the castle is that you got the golden egg from Haseul,” Sooyoung said.

Jungeun snorted. “And where did you hear that?”

“From Hyunjin, who heard it from Heejin, who heard it from Jiwoo, who Haseul told.”

“Ah, word travels fast in this massive stone pile,” Jungeun said sarcastically. “Are you asking me to give you the golden egg?”

Sooyoung shook her head, bobbing her head slightly to the side. “No, but I’m confused as to why you have it. Doesn’t Haseul need it?”

“Haseul’s already figured out the clue.”

“Shiiit,” Sooyoung groaned, hand running through her tangly hair that was starting to grow back a little bit. “I’m screwed. I swear. If I don’t come in first place for this damn task, I’m dropping out of school. I’m a disgrace to the Ha family and Durmstrang Institute. I can’t stand the thought of losing. I’m  _ Yves.  _ I don’t lose.”

Jungeun had to laugh. Egotistic, arrogant Ha Sooyoung would always have a special place in her heart. She shook her head. “Sooyoung, I have the egg because I want to help you with the next task.”

“I thought all champions stood alone?” Sooyoung raised a brow. Jungeun was about to call her out because she  _ knew  _ Sooyoung had cheated just like Jinsol. “If I’m going to have a fair chance, I’m going to have to cheat. Crazy how this tournament works, huh?”

Jungeun nodded. “Crazy is right.”

The taller girl sighed and gave Jungeun’s hand a soft squeeze. “But knowing you… you’ve already helped Jinsol, right?” Her lips curved into a forced smile. “You two are closer than we are, and I wouldn’t be surprised if…”

“If what?” Jungeun asked.

“Nevermind,” Sooyoung sighed in agitation. “I just don’t want to be strung along.” She looked down at their joined hands and laughed. “And I know Jinsol doesn’t either.”

Was that what Sooyoung and Jinsol thought of Jungeun? Did she really make it seem like she was using them while she made up her mind? Oh, god, this was horrible. Poor Sooyoung… Poor Jinsol... 

Jungeun wanted to throw up.

She wanted to blurt her feelings out, tell Sooyoung that she wasn’t trying to string her along. She was just confused… indecisive… It was the one thing she was too cowardly to face: her own feelings.

“Sooyoung,” she croaked. When the taller girl looked down at her, Jungeun threw her arms around her and buried her head into the crook of her neck. “Come to the Prefects’ Bathroom on the fifth floor at 7. I’m going to help you figure out the second task and then we’re going to talk.”

“Talk about what? Us?”

“Yeah…”

Sooyoung looked at her curiously. “Is Jinsol going to be there?” Jungeun sighed, knowing she would have to lie to Sooyoung again. “I think she should be part of this conversation.” 

_ Oh.  _ She was not expecting that to come out of Sooyoung’s mouth.

A perplexed look formed on her features. “Does she know I’m going to be there?”

“No…” Jungeun pulled away and scratched the back of her head.

“Well,” Sooyoung laughed, “you should tell her. I think a lot of our conflicts would be solved if you actually talked to us, Jungeun. Communication is important.”

Jungeun’s cheeks turned pink as she bowed her head in embarrassment. Sooyoung did make a very good point, and she was very surprised that they both put up with her miscommunication for so long. “Isn’t it the same for you and Jinsol?” Jungeun asked boldly.

Sooyoung chuckled at her boldness. “Possibly, but I also am addicted to teasing the shit out of the poor girl. It’s so fun!”

They stopped in front of the library, and Sooyoung turned to kiss Jungeun gently. She stroked the younger girl’s cheek and gave her a warm smile. “I’m going to arrive five minutes later than I’m supposed to for two reasons. One, you’re going to tell Jinsol I’m coming. Two, I’m a celebrity. I need to make an entrance. I will also wow both of you with my gorgeous designer swimsuit because I  _ will  _ be getting into that bathtub.”

“Get out of here,” Jungeun huffed, playfully shoving her.

* * *

Jungeun wasn’t surprised to find Jinsol arrived at exactly seven o’clock. She was always punctual, very much a goody two shoes and very reliable. She stopped leaning on the statue of Boris the Bewildered, which was right outside of the bathroom and smiled at Jinsol. “Hey, you,” she greeted.

Jinsol grinned back. She looked so cute, hair tied up into a high ponytail and hands untwisting the black straps of her swimsuit that was peeking out from her low cut shirt. “Hey!” she greeted. She practically bounced over to Jungeun, cheeks puffing out in the most adorable way possible. “Ready to go in?”

“Um, actually… there’s something I need to tell you,” Jungeun mumbled shyly.

“You invited Sooyoung too,” Jinsol said immediately.

Jungeun’s eyes widened. “Sol!? How the hell did you know that?”

“It’s become normal for me to expect Sooyoung to show up sometimes. I mean… It wouldn’t be like you to help one of us with the clue and leave the other in the dark,” Jinsol explained. She laughed gently. “You care about both of us. I’ve… learned to accept that.”

Jungeun grimaced, internally cringing at how stupid she’d been this entire time. “I didn’t just bring Sooyoung for the task,” she continued. “I brought her because I think we need to have a conversation. There are some things I need to get off my chest, and I’m sure you have questions too.” She grabbed Jinsol’s hand and squeezed it, a longing look in her eyes. “I’m ready to talk about us.”

Jinsol’s smile grew as she brought Jungeun’s hand up to her lips and kissed it. “I don’t get why Sooyoung has to be there if we’re talking about us, but unless Sooyoung has become part of the equation…” She trailed off suddenly and looked down the hall. Jungeun raised a brow and followed her gaze. 

There Sooyoung was, as extra as ever, strutting down the hallway in a silk bathrobe and burgundy bikini.

Jinsol swallowed the lump in her throat. “Or maybe she’s always been part of the equation,” she muttered.

“Hello, ladies,” Sooyoung greeted with a wink. “Ready to have some fun?”

“You look like an escort,” Jinsol said bluntly.

“Oh?” Sooyoung chuckled. “I wasn’t aware we were on speaking terms now since you refuse to have one conversation with me ever since the duel.”

“I didn’t have a choice. Nor did I really have anything to say to you. We agreed that-” Jinsol stopped mid-sentence and strangely changed the direction of what she was trying to say. “Madame Bae said that I needed to avoid you because our rivalry was so bad that the Department of International Magical Cooperation was concerned we’d cause a diplomacy crisis.”

“My impact.”

Jungeun facepalmed. “Can we just go inside?”

Sooyoung and Jinsol gave each other blank looks before nodding at Jungeun. She let go of Jinsol’s hand and hugged the golden egg close to her chest as she approached the door leading to the bathroom.  _ “Cherry blossoms,”  _ she said softly. The door swung open, and the three girls stepped inside.

“Holy shit, why aren’t all the bathrooms in Hogwarts like this?” Sooyoung asked with wide eyes.

Jungeun laughed. “Because then where would be the special treatment for the prefects and Quidditch captains?” She paused, finding herself staring at the mermaid stained glass window. It sure was pretty in here. The tub was huge and surrounded by multiple golden taps that spewed out different color bubbles. Although, Jungeun wasn’t sure if they were going to have a bubble bath or a normal bath. Might as well run the bath while they figured out the clue.

She yawned quietly, placing the egg near the edge of the tub. She took a seat by the tub’s edge and moved to unbutton her shirt. Jinsol’s breath hitched. “Jungeun, what are you doing!?” she asked.

“What? I’m supposed to get in the water with my clothes on?” Jungeun asked.

“Please, by all means, keep unbuttoning your shirt,” Sooyoung smirked, obvious interest in her gaze. “But do it slowly.”

Jungeun screeched in embarrassment. “Sooyoung! Don’t be gross!”

She only made an even louder noise when Jinsol muttered, “I have to agree with her there. I wanna see that.”

Refusing to let Jinsol and Sooyoung continue to objectify her, Jungeun glared at the blonde. “Jinsol, can you turn the bath on?” Jinsol nodded and made her way over to the taps but paused when she looked over at how many there were. Jungeun smiled at her endearingly. “The big one is hot water, babe. The rest are different colored soaps to make a bubble bath. You can use them if you want, but-”

She stopped talking because Jinsol was already turning on as many taps as she could.

“Careful now, Jung,” Sooyoung laughed, taking a seat next to Jungeun. “Don’t wanna accidentally mix the colors and make brown.”

“I’m careful! I’m careful!” Jinsol shouted back at her.

Jungeun went back to unbuttoning her shirt. She tossed her auburn hair to the side and bit her lip as she slipped off her shoes and athletic shorts. She was already freezing cold, and if Jinsol didn’t get that bath going soon…

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Sooyoung poking the cracks of the golden egg. Her eyes widened. Oh, no, she better not be trying to open that egg. Sooyoung was paying no attention to her and played with the egg in her lap. Jungeun continued to nervously watch her as she put her feet into the bathtub. Well, at least Jinsol managed to get the bath to the perfect temperature and a pretty lilac color.

She smiled gently as Jinsol padded over to her and took a seat on the other side of her, thighs brushing together. She pulled her shirt off to reveal her black and white one-piece, and all Jungeun could do was stare at her adoringly.

“What? Do I have something on my face?” Jinsol asked seriously.

“No, you’re just pretty,” she replied.

Jinsol blushed, tucking a bit of her loose blonde hair behind her ear. “Oh.”

Jungeun smiled and turned her attention back to Sooyoung, reaching over to gently squeeze her thigh. “Hey, Soo, what’s up?”

Sooyoung snapped her attention away from the egg and smiled at Jungeun. “Well, I’m just looking at this egg… It looks like it can open. The clue must be inside there!” 

Jungeun opened her mouth to explain to her that it probably was, but she shouldn’t open it because it made a horrible racket. But Sooyoung was faster and opened the egg. “Wait! Sooyoung, no!”

She opened the egg, and the most horrendous screech erupted. Jungeun had heard that screech way too many damn times this past week but still could not get used to the huge racket. Thanks a lot, Yeri!

Sooyoung swore loudly and slammed it shut. “Fuck. You could’ve warned me, Jungeun.”

Jungeun rolled her eyes. “I was about to, but you had to open the egg anyway.”

Jinsol was the only one who had not made much of a comment. Instead, her eyes remained glued to the egg. She licked her lips in thought and briefly glanced up at Jungeun. “Open it again.”

“Are you crazy!?” Sooyoung spat.

Jinsol shook her head and gave Sooyoung an annoyed look. “Sooyoung, please just trust me with this.”

She glared at Jinsol, clearly thinking that the blonde was insane before sighing in defeat and opening the egg again. This time, Jungeun was prepared and covered her ears as fast as possible.

While the egg screeched and cried like a little baby, Jinsol pointed at the mermaid in the stained glass window and bounced up and down excitedly. “Look! Look!” she shouted. “The mermaid!” Indeed, the mermaid was moving, clearly affected by the noise but also seemed to understand what it was trying to say? She looked like she was empathizing with the egg’s agony.

But why would it be agonizing… unless?

Jungeun closed the egg. “Those noises,” she started to say. She looked at Jinsol knowingly. “Jinsol.”

“Yes,” Jinsol said with a nod.

“Um, hello!?” Sooyoung waved her hands frantically and cleared her throat. “I don’t speak whatever secret mind language you have. Can someone explain what the hell you two just figured out?”

Jinsol beamed. “I’d be happy to explain, Sooyoung! Maybe you could actually learn something!”

Sooyoung groaned and rolled her eyes, but Jungeun’s glare was enough to snap her out of it.

“I was pointing to the mermaid in the window because she seemed very affected by the noises coming out of the egg. She seemed to sort of understand them. Now, why can she understand them but we can’t?” Jinsol asked. She pointed to the egg and then at the tub. “Because those noises are actually a merperson’s song. We can’t actually understand their voices unless we hear them underwater. I think the merperson’s song has the clue, and we have to open the egg underwater.”

_ Gosh, she’s so smart,  _ Jungeun thought, looking at Jinsol with a loving look.

“Huh,” Sooyoung said, amused. “You know what, Jinsol, you’re actually… really fucking smart. I don’t think I give you enough credit.”

Jinsol’s eyes widened. “Is that a compliment?”

“Yeah, it is.”

Jungeun wanted to squeal in delight.

“So, we’re opening the egg underwater?” Jungeun asked, looking to Jinsol and Sooyoung for confirmation.

“Looks like it,” Sooyoung answered.

“Mhm,” Jinsol added on. “Be prepared to get your hair wet. We’re going to have to stick our heads in if we’re going to be able to hear the merpeople.”

Jungeun wasn’t particularly excited about getting her hair wet, but she was curious to hear what these merpeople had to say. She got in the water first, expecting it to be very hot but sighed in relief when the water was just the perfect temperature. Sooyoung got in next, having taken off her bathrobe. She really did have the most gorgeous body Jungeun had ever seen. Sooyoung was looking at her the same way, ogling over her red bikini. Jinsol got in last and giggled, moving to place a pile of bubbles on top of her head. Both Jungeun and Sooyoung (surprisingly) found that endearing and adorable.

Jungeun grabbed the egg off the ledge and held it in front of her. “On the count of three, we go under and open the egg,” she said, looking at Jinsol and Sooyoung softly. “One… two… three…”

They took a deep breath and went underwater. Jungeun opened the egg and winced, expecting the screaming again but instead, she heard probably the most beautiful voice in the entire world. She grabbed Sooyoung and Jinsol’s hands and listened carefully.

_ Come seek us where our voices sound, _

_ We cannot sing above the ground, _

_ And while you're searching ponder this; _

_ We've taken what you'll sorely miss, _

_ An hour long you'll have to look, _

_ And to recover what we took, _

_ But past an hour, the prospect's black, _

_ Too late, it's gone, it won't come back. _

The three of them submerged, gasping for air. Jungeun groaned and moved the hair out of her face. Well, that was something. This was what Haseul probably meant with the riddles. Wow, did Haseul really spend several hours a day in the bathtub listening to this song over and over again? Gotta admire the girl for her determination.

Sooyoung put the egg up on the ledge and breathed heavily. “Anyone know what the hell that meant?”

Jinsol pursed her lips. “Well, I was right about the merpeople, but I’m very confused. Are there any merpeople around here?”

“The lake,” Jungeun answered. “I heard rumors of a merperson colony in the lake. There is a giant squid in there, so I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“So the task must be in the lake,” Sooyoung deduced. “It sounds like they’ve taken something from us. Something precious to us, but that’s weird, I don’t notice anything missing. Have you had anything missing, Jinsol?”

“Nope.” Jinsol shook her head, popping the “p.”

Jungeun furrowed her brows in thought, but then Professor Taemin’s words replayed in her head.  _ Oh, wait… I got it. I see what he means now.  _ So, she kept her mouth shut.

“Well…” Sooyoung sighed. “We have time to figure it out.”

Now that the clue had been figured out, well, mostly, Jungeun knew the next topic of conversation wouldn’t be as easy as sticking her head underwater and listening to a merperson sing. She relaxed against the walls of the tub and took a deep breath. “So,” she started to say, “I think we need to talk. I need to say some things.”

Sooyoung and Jinsol exchanged looks. Jungeun couldn’t exactly figure out what was going through their heads, but something told her that they’ve had conversations about her feelings before.  _ No, Jungeun, don’t make assumptions. _

“To put it simply, I like both of you. I want to date both of you. I think you could already tell since I’ve been openly affectionate with both of you. Yeah, I wasn’t thinking when I accepted both of your invitations to the Yule Ball without telling you, but the more I think about it, I don’t regret it,” Jungeun started to explain. “This isn’t about me debating over who I want to be with more. It was never about me picking you. Jinsol, I’ve liked you for such a long time, and I’m happy you feel the same way. But Sooyoung, you have also contributed to a big part of my life, much more so since I’ve gotten to know you as a person.”

She took a deep breath. “And I’m so, so sorry if I gave the impression that I’m leading you on. I am not trying to lead you on. I’m sorry, but I’m not picking between either of you. I just want to be with you guys,” she pleaded desperately. “It’s unconventional. It’s unusual, but when I’m with the two of you, everything feels right in the world, and that feeling is so special to me. You’re both so special to me.”

Her voice had gotten shaky, and Jungeun felt like she was going to start crying in this big bathtub. This was why she kept her feelings all bottled up and hidden because letting it out hurt way too much for her to want to deal with. “Please… say something.”

Sooyoung and Jinsol were silent at first. They locked eyes with each other then moved to Jungeun’s trembling form. Slowly, they made their way over to her and took Jungeun into their arms. It was a little awkward as they were hugging each side of her body, but it was nice and comforting, and that was enough for her.

Sooyoung was the first to speak, gently stroking Jungeun’s hair to try and comfort her. “Are you 100% positive you want to be with both of us? Like, is that what you want, Jungeun?”

“Yes,” Jungeun said immediately. “It’s not a compromise. It’s what I really feel.”

She nodded and pressed a kiss to her temple. “Okay… Jinsol? Do you want to speak first?” she asked the blonde.

Jinsol’s eyes widened. “Wait!? You want me to talk? But you hate whenever I speak!”

“For two seconds, can we please put this rivalry on pause?” Sooyoung asked with clear frustration. “This is about Jungeun, not us.”

Jinsol cowered a little bit because of Sooyoung’s words but nodded. “Okay, um, well… Jungeun, you know how I feel about you. I don’t think that will ever change. When Sooyoung came into our lives, I was terrified she was going to mess everything up because you were so drawn to her, and yeah, I was jealous. As time went by, I started preparing myself for the day that you would eventually break it off and choose Sooyoung, but you never did that. Instead, you kept showing me signs that you wanted to be with me, so I decided to not give up hope.” She took a deep breath. “If this is really what you want, dating both of us, I think I can… I think I can be okay with that.” 

A sad smile formed on her lips. “All I want is for you to be happy, Jungeun. I would do anything to make you happy. And I’m more okay with this than what Sooyoung and I originally thought was going to happen, right, Sooyoung?”

Sooyoung let out a breathy laugh. “I can’t believe we dueled over that. Merlin, all this for a girl…”

“A very special girl.”

“Yeah, we can agree on that.”

Jungeun’s eyebrows shot up. “Wait a minute… What do you mean you dueled over that?”

The Durmstrang girl smirked and playfully ruffled her hair. “Like Jinsol, I was not too pleased by having another presence getting in the way of my wooing. I was envious of her because everybody seemed to like her, and  _ you  _ were crazy over her. I couldn’t even compare to her. But the more time I spent with you, the more I wanted to keep trying because there was still some hope that maybe you would choose me too. I sort of… sort of just accepted that Jinsol would be a huge part of your life no matter what, and I just hoped I would one day get that treatment. But when Jinsol and I kissed…”

“NO!” Jinsol yelled suddenly.

“What!?” Sooyoung looked at her in surprise.

Jinsol shook her head. “I don’t wanna hear you talk about the kiss.”

“Even if it’s a good thing?”

“I-” Jinsol cleared her throat, cheeks a bright pink. “I wanna pretend that never happened.”

Sooyoung frowned slightly and then turned her attention back to Jungeun. “I began to think that you were purposefully toying Jinsol and me, so I brought it up to Jinsol, and she got defensive over you. She thought I secretly hated you or something, so then I confessed to Jinsol that I liked you, and she got even more furious. We then started arguing about who you would pick in the end. That’s when she took her wand out, and the rest is history,” she said sheepishly.

“No, you took your wand out first,” Jinsol argued.

“Sweetie, I think we all know who the real hothead here is,” Sooyoung said snarkily.

Jinsol just bowed her head in embarrassment.

“You think I’m leading you on?” Jungeun asked seriously.

Sooyoung shook her head and gave her a reassuring smile. “Not anymore. After you explained how you were feeling, now I know you’re not leading me on.” She hugged Jungeun a little bit tighter. “I am okay with sharing you with Jinsol as long as I have you. That’s enough for me. As long as I know you’re mine, I can tolerate Jinsol.” She froze up suddenly. “Wait… you’re not expecting me to date Jinsol too, right?”

Jinsol choked on her breath. “Um… what…”

Jungeun quickly shook her head. “No, no, no, not unless you wanted to. I’m not trying to force you to do anything. I just want you both to be okay with sharing me.” She smiled sheepishly. “And um… if it’s not too much to ask, can you please stop fighting? If really the source of your conflict comes from me, and that conflict is over… I would really want you guys to be on better terms. Please?”

Jinsol and Sooyoung looked at Jungeun and then at each other.

“Well,” Jinsol said, “I think… I can do that. I mean you’re not totally awful sometimes.”

Sooyoung chuckled. “Thank you, Jinsol. You’re not totally awful either.”

“Do you want to start over?”

The brunette grinned a big toothy grin. “Yeah. I like the sound of that.” She held her hand out. “Hello. My name is Ha Sooyoung, but you may know me professionally as Yves. I’m dating Kim Jungeun. Who are you?”

Jinsol snickered and took Sooyoung’s hand. “I’m Jung Jinsol, and wow, what a coincidence! I’m also dating Kim Jungeun.”

“Maybe we can bond over that.”

Jungeun let out a delighted squeal and kissed both of their cheeks.  _ This  _ was what she wanted.  _ This  _ was what she had been waiting for.

She had been successful in her task of pacifying Sooyoung and Jinsol, and in the process managed to get them both to date her. Why didn’t she talk about her feelings sooner? She could tell Professor Taemin about her success.

_ Oh, shit, the second task.  _ Her mind swarmed with the reminder that she would be involved in it. A part of her still had a fear that maybe Sooyoung and Jinsol’s truce would shatter again once she wasn’t around.

But now that she had Ha Sooyoung and Jung Jinsol by her side, she felt like she could handle anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeaaaHHHHH lipvesoul are almost all together. now we just need yvesoul to figure out their feelings, right? unfortunately, that's not going to happen for a bit. now, the main reason why i'm here is because next chapter is the second task, and since jungeun is, well, unavailable, we will be reading in either sooyoung or jinsol's pov. this is a good chance for people to know what's going on in their heads and get some of their backstory. you can vote on the poll here: https://twitter.com/hyeIipves/status/1284654239973875712?s=20 (if you don't have twitter feel free to comment your pick below or put it in my cc!) thank you for reading everyone. <3
> 
> twitter:  
> @hyeiipves  
> curious cat:  
> curiouscat.me/hyeslipse


	10. NINE: THE SECOND TASK

“Get up.”

Sooyoung groaned and ignored Hyunjin, who was standing over her rather menacingly. The girl was a little scary sometimes, but she never dared to tell her that because the last thing she wanted was the girl to rub that in her face and use that fear to her advantage. Sooyoung closed her eyes again, hoping that if she just pretended that Hyunjin wasn’t there, she could go back to sleep.

Hyunjin was relentless as she was terrifying. The covers were torn off of Sooyoung’s body, and Sooyoung jumped up in annoyance, moving to cover her skimpily dressed body.

“Thought that would get you up,” Hyunjin laughed. She walked over to the porthole near Sooyoung’s bed and opened the curtains. “Well, would you look at that?” she asked over the loud sound of rain hitting the surface of the lake. “Looks like you don’t need to worry about it being too cold when you get in the water. You’ll be sopping wet already.”

An agitated sigh left Sooyoung’s lips. Of course, it had to rain the day of the task. Sooyoung couldn’t understand why the task of all days had to be on a Wednesday. She was up so late last night with Hyunjin preparing their strategy for the task that she completely forgot to go find Jungeun before she went to sleep and kiss her goodnight. The poor girl must’ve been worried about her.

_ Jungeun.  _ The thought of her girlfriend made Sooyoung’s chest swell. They had been going steady for about two weeks, much to Sooyoung’s fan club’s dismay. They stared enviously as Sooyoung walked Jungeun to classes and kissed her in the hallway. “Yeah, she’s my girlfriend,” Sooyoung told them whenever any of her fangirls asked. And as much as she hated seeing her loyal fans frown, she was beyond happy she could show her off as hers.

Well, half hers because the situation was complicated. Sometimes Sooyoung forgot that Jungeun’s heart belonged to her rival and sworn enemy too. No, not sworn enemy, Sooyoung was just being dramatic. Jinsol wasn’t actually  _ terrible.  _ She was still just getting used to the idea of sharing Jungeun with someone she had been fighting with for months.

They agreed to start over, and Sooyoung had honored that agreement for Jungeun’s sake, but she silently wondered what would happen if she tried to sabotage Jinsol again…

_ No, Sooyoung,  _ she thought.  _ Jungeun will be mad at you. _

But why did she enjoy the cute, angry facial expressions Jinsol made whenever Sooyoung teased her so much?

Sooyoung was pulled from her thoughts when Hyunjin threw her swimsuit right at her face. “Meet me on the deck in five minutes. We gotta get to breakfast fast. The task starts at 11.”

She sighed and rubbed her eyes. Today was going to be a long day.

By the time Sooyoung had reached the deck of the Durmstrang ship, Hyunjin was drenched. Sooyoung wasn’t sure why Hyunjin decided to just stand out in the rain when she could’ve waited under the awning by Miss Sunmi’s quarters. Hyunjin was a bit of a strange one. They climbed into the small rowboat, Sooyoung covering her shivering body with a red cloak and squeezing her eyes shut as Hyunjin lowered them onto the water.

“It’s so cold…” Sooyoung shivered, turning to look at Hyunjin who was guiding the boat to the boathouse. “Hyunjin, how are you not freezing?”

“Hoes don’t get cold,” Hyunjin said bluntly, and Sooyoung raised a brow. “I don’t know why I said that. I overheard Yeojin say that last Thursday when it was snowing like crazy. I thought it sounded cool.”

Sooyoung just chuckled.

When they reached the shore, it was a race to get up to the Great Hall. Hyunjin grabbed Sooyoung’s hand and practically dragged her up the stairs. This was so demeaning being dragged around like a rag doll by Hyunjin. She was Yves, for Merlin’s sake! The best Quidditch athlete of the decade!

Finally, they entered the warm Entrance Hall, and Sooyoung sighed in relief. She noticed a group of young girls standing near the doors staring at Sooyoung with wide eyes and giggling. Sooyoung grinned and pulled her hood down, running a hand through her soaking wet hair. The girls squealed loudly, and Sooyoung winked at them.

“You’re so annoying,” Hyunjin grumbled.

Sooyoung just smirked.

“Good luck today, Yves!” A Hogwarts fourth year who called herself Jihan said with big adoring eyes. “I’ll be rooting for you! I know I should be rooting for Haseul because we’re in the same house, but I’m such a big fan of yours.”

Sooyoung’s heart fluttered.  _ She’s a fan of me!? I really, really do love my fans.  _ She batted her eyelashes and smiled. “Thank you, Jihan. Your support means the world to me.”

“Ha Sooyoung,” Hyunjin hissed, grabbing Sooyoung’s wrist roughly and yanking her into the Great Hall. “Let’s. Go.”

Note to self: Never piss off Kim Hyunjin.

As expected of the Great Hall on the day of a tournament task, it was filled with loud, chattering students. A sea of red, blue, and yellow as the school divided their support among the three champions. She looked at the Slytherin table, noticing the Durmstrang delegation trying to wave Sooyoung and Hyunjin over to them. She didn’t want to sit with them today. No, she wanted to find her girlfriend.

She scanned the Gryffindor table for any sign of Jungeun. Usually, she would already be eating with her group of friends, but the only recognizable faces she saw were Yeojin, Yerim, Hyejoo, Chaewon. Nose scrunching up in confusion, she made her way over to the Gryffindor table with Hyunjin.

“Hey, Hyunjin. Hiya, Sooyoung,” Yerim greeted. “Yeojin’s doing face paint. Do you want any?” She gestured to Yeojin, who had Hufflepuff colors on her face, painting “HS” in gold and black on Yerim’s cheeks. Chaewon already had “JS” on her cheeks, and Hyejoo had “YV” and “ES” spelled out across her face. Surprisingly, the two girls that were usually attached at the hip were sitting across from each other, but it wasn’t any of Sooyoung’s business.

Hyunjin shook her head. “No thank you. Unless she’s drawing a cat on my face, I don’t want it.”

“I could definitely!” Yeojin said. “Just pay me five galleons.”

“Oh, hell no. I’m not paying you anything.”

Sooyoung didn’t care about face painting or whatever nonsense these kids were up to. She wanted Jungeun. “Where’s Jungeun?”

Yeojin shrugged half-heartedly. “Dunno. Haven’t seen her since our game of Exploding Snap in the common room last night. She went to bed half an hour earlier. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Jiwoo either…”

“Well, did you see her when you woke up this morning? Don’t you live together? You have to know something!” Sooyoung pressed, starting to get a little agitated.

“I told you I don’t know where she is,” Yeojin replied. “Why don’t you go ask a Gryffindor sixth year instead of me?”

Sooyoung frowned. “Who are they?”

“Are you stupid? You know all of them!” Yeojin stopped painting Yerim’s cheeks and turned in her seat.

“Your fellow Chaser #1, Kim Yerim.” She pointed to the pink-haired girl who was sitting at the Slytherin table with a tall raven-haired girl, Joy, who happened to also be named Sooyoung. There was a reason why Joy started going by her nickname instead of her birth name. It was all thanks to Yves’s arrival. That Slytherin Quidditch captain who tried to recruit her a few months ago, Jennie, was also sitting with them. All of them had red and black painted on their faces except for Yeri, who sported black and yellow.

“Your fellow Chaser #2, Park Jiwon.” She pointed to the blonde girl sitting at the Ravenclaw table with a  _ very  _ tall black-haired girl, another blonde, and a small girl that reminded Sooyoung of a pomeranian. Jiwon and the other blonde both had Beauxbatons’ colors on their faces while the other two had Haseul’s initials in black and yellow. Yeojin’s business was apparently very popular.

“And of course, Jeon Heejin.” 

The doors to the Great Hall swung open, and Heejin entered the room with very tired eyes. Her expression seemed to lighten up when she noticed Sooyoung and Hyunjin and waved. “Hey, guys!”

“Where is Jungeun?” Sooyoung asked, cutting straight to the point.

Hyunjin narrowed her eyes. “Don’t speak to Heejin with that tone.”

“Or what?” she asked. “What are you gonna do? Hex me?”

“I’ll cream you better than Jinsol did when she wiped your ass during that duel.”

Sooyoung’s eyes widened. Yeah, Kim Hyunjin was  _ terrifying.  _

Heejin yawned as she approached the Gryffindor table, sliding into a seat next to Chaewon. “Morning, everyone. What’s on the menu today?” she asked sleepily. Sooyoung continued to stare her down, waiting until Heejin would  _ finally  _ give her the answers she needed. “Oh? You’re asking about Jungeun? I don’t know. She and Jiwoo were gone when I woke up.”

“Ugh,” Sooyoung groaned. How could these people not know where her precious Jungeun was? If she slept in the same room with her every night, she would never let Jungeun wander off like that. Like, what if Jinsol was worried about her too?

“I wouldn’t worry too much, Sooyoung,” Heejin continued with a soft shrug. “Jungeun usually gets up early anyway. When we were first years, she’d get up at the crack of dawn and go on long walks and sometimes get in trouble for sneaking out. I don’t think she’s dead or anything.”

_ That’s so comforting,  _ Sooyoung thought with an eye-roll.  _ Not. _

Well, if nobody was going to tell her where her girlfriend was, she’d find her herself because she  _ needed  _ to get some sort of comfort from her as a good luck charm. Sooyoung needed all the luck she could get. She couldn’t just rely on her wits and perfect skills. 

Failing the last task was humiliating. She refused to let that happen again. She would not be the laughing stock of Durmstrang Institute. Not when she had so much at stake.

“Sooyoung!”

Her head perked up to the sound of Haseul calling her name. What could the Hogwarts champion even want? Then, she locked eyes with Jinsol, and her nose immediately scrunched up when Jinsol looked away. They were standing near the Hufflepuff table with concerned looks on their features. Sooyoung figured she should go over there.

Sooyoung took off her cloak and tucked it under her arm as she made her way to her fellow champions. “What’s up?” she asked smoothly as she played with the buttons of her shirt. She figured she would wear something easily removable because she was getting in the water but still attractive because she wanted to wow the crowd.

Jinsol’s jaw clenched as she glanced down at Sooyoung’s hands then looked back up at her. “Where’s Jungeun?”

“I have no idea,” Sooyoung replied. “Weren’t you with her last?”

Jinsol looked down at her feet. “Actually, no… I was practicing for the task with Madame Bae last night.”

“So we both don’t know where she is,” she groaned. A panicked look formed in her eyes. “Oh, no, Jinsol, what if she’s mad at us for not seeing her!? We are the worst girlfriends ever! She’s probably ignoring us.”

The one thing Jinsol and Sooyoung could agree on was Jungeun. And once Sooyoung got Jinsol panicking about Jungeun, it was all over. The two girls started spouting incoherent worries and rambling, pacing back and forth while Haseul watched on with a very confused yet concerned look.

“Hey, guys… Jiwoo is missing too. You know that, right?” Haseul pointed out. Sooyoung and Jinsol looked at each other and then at Haseul. “It could mean that-”

“You’re absolutely right, Haseul!” Jinsol exclaimed. “We have to go looking for both of them!”

“Yes, exactly!” Sooyoung chimed in agreement. “Heejin told me that there are two other Gryffindors we can talk to, Park Jiwon and Kim Yerim. Let’s catch them on the way down to the lake and interrogate them.”

Haseul let out a distressed sigh. “If you would both just listen…”

Jinsol clapped her hands together. “I think this might be your only great idea, Ha Sooyoung.”

“Is that another back-handed compliment!? I thought we had grown past that!”

Jinsol just gave her a shit-eating grin. Damn, that girl really knew how to get under Sooyoung’s skin.

“We need to be at the lake in twenty minutes, and I haven’t finished my croissant,” Haseul groaned.

“Then finish your croissant,” Jinsol huffed.

Haseul sighed loudly. She looked at the two champions and shook her head. “You’re right. Jiwoo wouldn’t miss the task for the world. Something is fishy.” She shook her head and looked out the window of the Great Hall. “But knowing the Triwizard Tournament, I feel like this isn’t a coincidence…”

She placed her hands on Jinsol and Sooyoung’s shoulders. “Game plan: I’ll talk to Jiwon. You guys talk to Yeri. I can assume you two can handle that without breaking out into a duel?” She gave the two girls a warning look.

Sooyoung shrugged. “Yeah, of course, Jinsol and I agreed that we’d turn over a new leaf.”

“Then why the hell were you two arguing in Transfiguration on Monday…?”

Jinsol and Sooyoung looked at each other. Sooyoung didn’t have an answer to that. Arguing had sort of become their thing. It was like Sooyoung could not have one conversation with Jinsol without seeing her cute little face contort into frustration. Sometimes she would just piss her off on purpose to relish in Jinsol’s flustered state, but she would never admit that out loud. Ever.

Jinsol crossed her arms over her chest. “Old habits die hard,” she grumbled.

“I really hope you don’t try to drown each other during this task. For Jungeun’s sake and all of us. Just…  _ please  _ behave.”

_ No promises,  _ Sooyoung thought, but she was definitely joking. Or was she?

* * *

Sooyoung and Jinsol walking down together to the boats seemed to have caught everyone’s attention. Sure, people were used to them being in the same vicinity because of Jungeun but never without her. Sooyoung loved the attention though. She always did, but Jinsol didn’t seem to care for it, despite being one of the most beautiful girls Sooyoung had ever seen.

No, she wouldn’t ever tell Jinsol she thought that. She was just stating facts. Jinsol was half-Veela after all; all Veelas were insanely attractive.

“Ready for today’s task?” Jinsol asked, breaking the silence that occupied most of their walk to the boats.

Sooyoung chuckled. “Trying to throw me off?”

“No?” Jinsol shook her head. “I won’t play dirty unless you do.”

“Oh, so you admit that you purposefully caused my hair to burn off-”

“Sooyoung! It’s been three months! Give it a rest!” Jinsol huffed and crossed her arms. “I don’t know why you’re complaining anyway. You look much better with shorter hair.”

“Wait, what?”

Jinsol’s eyes widened in panic, and her face flushed a deep red. “I- Nothing. Nevermind.”

Sooyoung smirked and tilted her head to the side. “Does that mean you think I’m hot?” she asked, practically purring.

“Ha Sooyoung, I swear if you don’t stop being a butthead…”

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a flash of pink hair down by the dock where boats were transporting students to the middle of the lake. She shushed Jinsol, sticking her finger on Jinsol’s pretty pink lips. “Look. There’s Yeri.” She grabbed Jinsol’s arm and dragged her down the hill to where Yeri and Joy were. “Come on. Let’s go.”

Jinsol whined as Sooyoung dragged her down the hill. “Hey! Slow down, will you? You’re going to get my shoes muddy!”

“You’re getting in the water anyway. So what?”

That shut Jinsol up.

“The odds of Yves winning are ten to one, you know that right?” Yeri asked, holding the boat steady while Joy climbed in.

Joy snorted. “Since when can you do math?”

Yeri let out a childish laugh. “Oh, no, I didn’t. Seungwan did the math for me.”

“How are _you_ on a first-name basis with Professor Son?” Joy asked incredulously, grabbing onto the side of the dock to hold the boat in place so Yeri could get in too.

“Seungwan  _ loves  _ me. I’ve definitely caused the most explosions in our year. More than Jiwoo, I know it. When she saw me walk into NEWT level Charms class this year, she started crying. I bet she was so happy I managed to scrape an E in my OWL.”

“Baby, I don’t think those were happy tears…”

Sooyoung and Jinsol approached the boat just before Yeri was about to push them off the dock. Sooyoung cleared her throat gently and crossed her arms over her chest. “Yeri,” she said in a cool tone. “Can I ask you something?”

“AH! YVES!” Yeri screamed, jumping in fear and causing the boat to rock. Poor Joy had to grab onto the dock quickly before the boat capsized. “Please! I was just kidding about the odds thing! I’m sure you’ll do great! Hahaha, oh my god, I’m dead.”

She wasn’t even going to comment on what she overheard, but it definitely stung. People were losing faith in her. Why couldn’t she be good enough? Three months of humiliation. She was so sick of the world doubting her abilities again. She felt like it was the weeks after the Quidditch World Cup again. And she never wanted to relive that experience ever again, the shame she got for something she couldn’t even control.

The Quidditch community had made her a fragile girl, but dare she ever show weakness? Never.

“Right,” Sooyoung said softly, “have you seen Jungeun and Jiwoo at any point this morning?”

“Mmm, nope,” Yeri answered. “I came back to the dormitory around two in the morning. Don’t ask me what I was doing. You’re not a prefect.”

Joy smirked and licked her lips. “I know what she was doing.”

Yeri turned a bright red. “Park Sooyoung, I swear to god…” She huffed, sending her a girlfriend a glare before turning back to the other Sooyoung and shrugged. “I was up around seven because I don’t ever sleep, and Jiwoo and Jungeun’s beds were empty. I thought they were with one of you or Haseul. Or, well, whichever one of you Jungeun’s dating.”

“She’s dating both of us,” Jinsol informed her. “It’s complicated.”

“How does that even work?” Joy asked. “Don’t you guys get jealous? What about you two then? I mean, I thought you two hated each other, yet here you both are holding wrists or whatever.”

Sooyoung’s jaw clenched, and she immediately let go of Jinsol’s wrist. Joy was right to question the nature of their relationship. It really was an interesting arrangement, one that Sooyoung never expected to be involved in. See, Sooyoung never liked sharing anything, but for Jungeun… she would do anything for her. Sooyoung thought the world of her. Whatever this was, it would be worth it because it made Jungeun happy.

For some reason, she felt angry. She could just explain that Sooyoung and Jinsol agreed to be somewhat cordial for Jungeun’s sake, and they just are dating the same person. But something about Joy questioning the nature of Sooyoung and Jinsol’s relationship struck a nerve. She felt vulnerable, exposed, and those were feelings she wanted gone.

“Jinsol and I are none of your business,” Sooyoung snapped. 

Joy’s eyebrow shot up at how defensive Sooyoung got. Even Jinsol seemed surprised by Sooyoung’s tone, and she could feel the blonde’s gaze burning holes into the side of her head. 

_ Stop looking at me, Jung,  _ she wanted to scream.  _ I don’t know why I said that either.  _

“Yikes, you hit a nerve, babe,” Yeri laughed nervously, breaking the sudden awkward silence.

Joy turned to look back at Yeri and pursed her lips. “Whatever. I thought I was going to find out something spicy. C’mon, Yeri, let’s go get some good seats in the stands.” Yeri nodded excitedly and pushed off the dock, letting the boat magically guide them to the three big towers in the middle of the lake.

Sooyoung was still shaking from what just happened. She had never felt so irritated. Who cared what people thought of her and Jinsol! Jungeun, too! Their arrangement worked out. And the last thing Sooyoung needed was for people to think she was dating Jinsol too because that was clearly not the case.

“Sooyoung?” Jinsol said softly. “Are you…” She didn’t finish the sentence, almost as if she was afraid to ask Sooyoung if she was okay.

Sooyoung turned to Jinsol and narrowed her eyes. “We got no information from that. Let’s go our separate ways. Wouldn’t want people to think I’m conspiring with the enemy.”

“Sooyoung,” Jinsol said again a lot more agitatedly.

“Just go, Jinsol. I don’t want to talk to you now.”

A flash of pain washed over Jinsol’s features. Maybe Sooyoung shouldn’t have rejected the one time Jinsol wanted to be nice to her, but at this point, she didn’t care. She didn’t want Jinsol’s fake pity and stupid, comforting smile because she was quite literally everyone’s best friend and could fix everything. How could one girl be so perfect? Sooyoung hated it.

She wished Jungeun were here. Jungeun always made things better. She made sure the bad thoughts wouldn’t cloud her mind.

“Okay,” Jinsol said. Sooyong was grateful she didn’t push it. Instead, she side-stepped Sooyoung and got into one of the boats with a few Beauxbatons students that had just arrived. Sooyoung couldn’t even look at her as much as she wanted to. She couldn’t explain her own actions.

Maybe this was why the world didn’t have faith in her anymore. Sooyoung couldn’t even figure out herself.

But there was no time to cry or wallow in self-pity and insecurity because the Durmstrang delegation was making their way down the hill to the docks with Miss Sunmi in the lead. Sooyoung wouldn’t let her fellow pupils gloat and mock Sooyoung’s failure. Only Hyunjin had been truly kind to her since the end of the first task.

She closed her eyes, sighed, and hoped she wouldn’t break down in front of everyone.

* * *

It was freezing cold outside, and Sooyoung couldn’t wait to get into the water because she was pretty sure that it would at least be warmer there than it was on the surface. Still no sign of Jungeun, and that worried Sooyoung a lot. She tried to look for her among their group of friends watching on the second level of the left tower, but she saw nothing. Great. Just what she needed, more anxiety added to this task. 

Sooyoung was standing on the edge of the platform near the water. Jinsol was shivering profusely to her left in a baby blue swimsuit, and Haseul was shifting her weight back and forth on her right in a yellow and black swimsuit. Haseul hadn’t got any information from Jiwon either. At least all three champions were cold and nervous together.

She had a concrete plan for this task, the Bubble-Head Charm. Simple but effective. Her goal was to finish this task as fast as possible instead of doing something flashy. She needed to get first place. So, therefore, she needed to finish the task first, obviously.

“Sooyoung.” Miss Sunmi’s voice came from behind her.

Sooyoung turned around to find the headmistress and Hyunjin behind her. She stiffened slightly, suddenly hyper-aware of her surroundings. “Yes?”

“We’re changing your plan for the task,” Miss Sunmi said coldly. “Hyunjin, give her the Gillyweed.”

“What!?” Sooyoung barked. “You can’t just change what I’m doing for the task five minutes before it’s supposed to start! I’m going to lose!” She took the weird-looking plant out of Hyunjin’s hand. “What is this thing?”

“Gillyweed,” Hyunjin said like it was obvious. “You eat it and then you breathe underwater.”

Sooyoung scowled. “Miss Sunmi, the Bubble-Head Charm works fine! Why are we taking the risk with this… this… weed!”

Miss Sunmi frowned, clearly irritated by Sooyoung’s protesting. “Hyunjin informed me that Haseul plans on using the Bubble-Head Charm. My Beauxbatons informant tells me Jinsol will be transfiguring herself into a mermaid. We must stand out.” She placed a cold, firm hand on Sooyoung’s shoulder. “Sooyoung, you are walking on a very thin line. Your mother is furious with your results in the first task. Your father is very close to not letting you go home.”

Under Miss Sunmi’s gaze, Sooyoung felt like a small child again. Of course, her parents were disappointed in her. Why wouldn’t they be? No matter what she did, no matter how hard she worked, it would never be enough.

Because she didn’t want to commit crimes and hurt Muggles like they did.

“I know you can do this,” Miss Sunmi continued, “so whatever trance you’ve gotten yourself into, snap out of it. You are a Ha, and I know my niece is capable of great things. You just need to focus.” A small smile formed. Miss Sunmi was always slightly more affectionate with her than anyone else in the family.

“I do. I can do this, Aunt Sunmi,” Sooyoung said quietly.

Miss Sunmi nodded and squeezed her shoulder. “Good. I expect you to come out of the lake first.” She turned to Hyunjin. “Explain to her the side effects of the Gillyweed. We have three minutes.”

Hyunjin went on to explain the effects of Gillyweed. Sooyoung tried her best to follow along, but the more she learned about it, the more terrified she was of actually using this. What if the Gillyweed ran out before the hour was over? This sounded like a huge health risk rather than a perfect plan.

“Okay, okay, okay,” Sooyoung said softly. “So, I’m basically gonna become a fish? With gills and all that?” she asked.

“Yeah, and as soon as you eat the Gillyweed, you gotta jump in,” Hyunjin informed her. “Otherwise, you’ll die because you can’t breathe any air.”

“Lovely.”

_ “Welcome to the second task!”  _ Professor Taemin’s voice boomed.  _ “Last night, something was stolen from each of the champions: a prized possession. Wait, no, that sounds really bad when you think about it. Oh, Merlin.”  _ He coughed awkwardly.  _ “What has been stolen now is at the bottom of the Black Lake. You will have one hour to retrieve what you lost and return to the surface. You will have one hour and one hour only. No exceptions.” _

Hyunjin tapped Sooyoung’s shoulder and gave her a look. Sooyoung nodded and popped the Gillyweed into her mouth.

Then, it hit her.

Something was stolen from them last night. Jungeun and Jiwoo hadn’t been seen since last night.

How hadn’t she figured this out before!?

Sooyoung was supposed to retrieve Jungeun.

_ Jungeun’s at the bottom of the lake, my poor baby, oh, gosh,  _ Sooyoung thought.

_ “At the sound of the cannon, the task will begin. Good luck, champions!” _

Suddenly, she felt like she was suffocating. “WAIT!” Sooyoung called, but no words came out of her mouth. She couldn’t breathe. She clutched her throat and coughed while the sound of the cannon went off. 

She stumbled and awkwardly fell into the water while Haseul jumped in normally and Jinsol did a fancy dive. Ugh, show off.

She clutched her throat and squirmed as she sunk lower and lower in the water until she was near the ground. She still couldn’t breathe even when underwater.

Haseul had already cast the Bubble-Head Charm and took off into the murky waters. 

Jinsol was nowhere in sight.

_ Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, I can’t lose!  _ Sooyoung panicked.  _ They’re already ahead. _

Then, she didn’t feel like she was choking anymore. Sooyoung felt like she was breathing fresh air. She rubbed her hand on her neck and felt newly sprouted gills. She looked at her hands and feet that were now webbed. This was hilarious. She really did look like a fish.

_ Okay, Sooyoung. Find Jungeun, get out of here. This is just like catching the snitch in a Quidditch game,  _ she thought.

She swam towards a forest of green seaweed. She noticed that she swam a lot faster with these webbed toes and fingers. Good call, Hyunjin. Maybe this was a better idea than the Bubble-Head Charm after all.

Sooyoung never knew a lake could be so deep. Jungeun mentioned there was a merperson colony somewhere in the lake. Is that where Jungeun would be? Haseul probably had an advantage. She attended Hogwarts. She probably knew every nook and cranny of the bottom of the lake.

Then again, that thought was kind of stupid. She really just didn’t want Haseul to beat her again.

_ Now, if I were a mercolony, where would I be? _

Somewhere in the pits of the lake. Far from the human eye. She swam out of the seaweed and looked down a deep ravine. She figured she should go down there, considering some fish seemed to be swimming down that way too. 

Descending into the ravine, she heard heavenly voices ring in her ears. Mermaid singing. She had to be close. She swam a little faster, feeling much more confident in her direction now that she didn’t have much to compare to.

When she approached another bed of seaweed, she noticed the fish seemed to disperse and swim away immediately. Huh, they must know something she didn’t. Sooyoung had overheard Jungeun talk about grindylows being in the lake. Where the hell was Jinsol and her cute nerdy obsession with magical creatures now?

Every task seemed to be working out for the blonde. Sooyoung was jealous. Now, if the third task was a Quidditch match, she would decimate them all, but it would be more rewarding if she beat Jinsol at her own game.

So, confidently, she took the risk and swam into the seaweed.

She kept hearing weird noises and screeching that left Sooyoung on guard. Yet she didn’t want to pull her wand out yet because Professor Taemin did assure them that no one would harm her when trying to rescue what was stolen.

She pushed past the last two bits of seaweed and gawked at the sight in front of her. A large gate and several structures cut into rocks surrounding the open area. This had to be some sort of merperson settlement.  _ Jinsol would love this,  _ Sooyoung thought. Not that she cared or anything. She was just stating facts.

Sooyoung eased her way out into the open area and scanned the area for any sign of Jungeun. Then, she saw them. Two girls in Hogwarts uniforms tied to rocks below them with their arms out to the side, hair flowing like crazy. Sooyoung swam closer to get a better look; it was Jungeun and Jiwoo. Both looked lifeless and pale as ghosts. She had never seen anything so horrifying. They must’ve been so cold.

The other thing she noticed was that there were only two people but three champions. The immediate thought that came to Sooyoung’s head was that she and Jinsol had to compete, and whoever saved Jungeun first would win. Jinsol getting last place, and she gets to save the damsel in distress? Sooyoung loved that idea.

She was grinning when she swam up to her girlfriend. “Hi, baby,” she greeted, surprised to find that she could talk underwater. “Let me get you out of this, okay?” Sooyoung noticed big, curious eyes watching her. There were merpeople standing guard and watching Sooyoung closely. Weird and creepy. Sooyoung figured they reported the results back to the judges or whatever.

She found a rather sharp rock and began using it to cut Jungeun’s rope. A merperson screeched behind her, and something sharp poked Sooyoung’s back. Sooyoung yelped and turned around. “Hey! What the hell’s wrong with you?”

The merperson shook his head and used his trident to move Sooyoung’s hands away from Jungeun’s rope.

“What!?” Sooyoung sputtered in confusion. “But she’s my girlfriend! She’s my prized possession!” she protested.

The merperson blinked and didn’t respond.

“Ugh, you don’t understand me, do you?”

No response again.

Was she supposed to save Jiwoo then? Gosh, that couldn’t be right. She wasn’t very close to Jiwoo. At least, not enough to be considered her prized possession or whatever. 

Unless… this whole thing was a setup. She groaned and looked back at the merperson. “How am I supposed to save my girlfriend then? Is she not who I’m supposed to save? You’re not helping me here!”

Jinsol emerged from the seaweed. Sooyoung’s jaw clenched as she looked at Jinsol’s mermaid form. Her shimmering blonde hair looked even prettier as it danced while she swam. She had a lovely blue tail that seemed to glow underwater. She hated how she couldn’t stop staring at her, and she hated that Jungeun couldn’t see Jinsol as a mermaid.

“Sooyoung?” Jinsol called out softly. “Why are you just standing there?”

“I’m not standing. I’m treading,” Sooyoung grumbled. “I’m trying to free Jungeun before you do because there’s only Jungeun and Jiwoo. So, I’m assuming she’s mine.” She burst out laughing. “We’re so stupid. Haseul was right. This wasn’t a coincidence. I’m just thinking about it now…”

Jinsol’s brows furrowed and ignored what she was saying. “That’s weird. Shouldn’t she be mine? She’s my girlfriend too.”

Sooyoung’s nostrils flared. She swore one day she was going to duel this girl again. “No! I was here first! I’m not going to let you take this win from me!” She turned back to try and cut Jungeun’s rope once more. The merperson next to her jabbed her with the trident again. “WILL YOU CUT THAT OUT?” she screamed.

The blonde roared with laughter. Good to know her misfortune was  _ funny  _ to Jinsol. She dismissed the merpeople and swam over to Sooyoung. She smirked at Sooyoung and grabbed the rock out of her hand. Sooyoung was ready to sock her in the eye. How dare this girl come up to her and gloat while she rescued Jungeun!

But while she too tried to cut Jungeun’s rope, the merperson jabbed her with his trident. Jinsol yelped in pain. Sooyoung almost wanted to laugh.

“Wait, what?” Jinsol blinked in confusion. “If it’s not you or me, then who’s supposed to save her?” She tilted her head to the side.

“How am I supposed to know?” Sooyoung asked. “I’ve been trying for the past few minutes, but that fucker keeps poking me in the back.”

Jinsol rolled her eyes. “Have you tried talking to him?”

“Talking to-” Sooyoung stopped mid-sentence when Jinsol said something that sounded like slow gibberish to the merperson. Sooyoung wanted to make fun of her for being weird when she realized that the merperson was speaking gibberish back much more fluidly than Jinsol.

_ She can talk to them too!? What can’t she do?  _ Sooyoung thought.

Jinsol tilted her head in confusion. “Uhhh, great, my mermish isn’t that good.”

“She finally has a flaw that isn’t the big stick up her ass!” Sooyoung said sarcastically.

“Shut it, you,” Jinsol growled.

Sooyoung grinned. “Oh, she’s so feisty.”

Jinsol sighed in frustration and looked up at Jungeun. A soft look formed on her features as she squeezed Jungeun’s hand. She looked back at Sooyoung and pursed her lips. “Sooyoung, I think… I think maybe we’re supposed to both save her,” Jinsol said quietly.

Sooyoung hadn’t thought about that. In fact, she didn’t even consider that a possibility because she was so obsessed with winning and beating Jinsol. Miss Sunmi had warned her that if her rivalry continued with Jinsol, there was a possibility she could be disqualified. Maybe this was a test to see if they could work together. She looked at the blonde with wide eyes. “We’re supposed to work together?”

“I think so…”

“But every champion stands alone.”

“Not us,” Jinsol said finally. “C’mon. Try and cut the rope with me and see what happens.”

Sooyoung’s brows furrowed, and she tilted her head to the side. “How do we do that?”

Jinsol handed Sooyoung the rock she was using before. She held the rope firmly so Sooyoung could get better access and cut it. Sooyoung began sawing away at the tough rope. And to her surprise, the merperson didn’t stop them. 

Jinsol was right. They had to work together on this task. But then who would get first place?

Sooyoung heard rustling behind her. She turned around to find Haseul emerging from the seaweed. They had to hurry.

“Sooyoung, hurry up,” Jinsol urged, eyeing Haseul carefully.

“Almost… done..”

Just as Haseul approached Jiwoo, Jungeun’s rope cut free, and the girl started her ascent to the surface. “Quickly, go!” Sooyoung urged. They both grabbed onto each of Jungeun’s arms and swam up to the surface. She had never kicked her legs harder in her entire life. Nor had she ever had to swim up to the top of the surface of a very deep lake.

The desperate swim to the surface was really getting to Sooyoung, and soon she found it very hard to breathe. She felt like she was about to drown except she shouldn’t be drowning because the effects of the Gillyweed should still be working. Unless it had already been an hour.

_ Oh, no,  _ Sooyoung thought as she moved her hand to her throat and noticed her gills starting to disappear. “Jinsol!” she called out, but she couldn’t speak clearly like before. She needed air so bad. The water was literally suffocating her, but she had to save Jungeun. She could hold on longer, right?

Below, she could see Haseul trying to make her way up with Jiwoo in tow. They had to hurry up. Sooyoung tried her best to keep kicking, but she needed to breathe so badly, and she was so tired.

Finally, Jinsol looked down and saw Sooyoung clearly suffering. Her eyes widened. “Sooyoung!” she called out.

Sooyoung pointed to the fading gills on her neck and gave her a desperate look.

Jinsol held her hand out. “Sooyoung, take my hand. Please. We’re almost there.”

Sooyoung weakly took Jinsol’s hand. Her eyes widened when Jinsol started to shoot up to the surface, dragging both Jungeun and her with her. 

Her chest was so tight. Jinsol’s hand was so soft.

She closed her eyes.

When she hit the surface, Sooyoung gasped for air. She breathed heavily in complete disbelief of how she managed to survive that. She heard the loud roaring and cheering from the stands. The familiar sound of girls screaming her name.

She did it.

But where were Jungeun and Jinsol?

She looked around frantically and found the two of them just a few feet away. Jungeun looked like she had woken up suddenly from a long nap. Sooyoung’s immediate reaction was to go to her side. She swam over to her and wrapped her arms around her. “Baby,” she croaked, “are you alright?”

“I’m fine. I’m safe, just cold,” Jungeun mumbled, leaning into Sooyoung’s touch. She looked at Jinsol and Sooyoung with bright, proud eyes, and Sooyoung couldn’t help but smile at how blue her lips were. “You both did it. You saved me.”

“I guess we did,” Jinsol laughed gently, looking over at Haseul and Jiwoo, who had just emerged from the water too.

“COLD! COLD! COLD! COLD!” Jiwoo shouted at the top of her lungs.

Even though she was unconscious for a long time, Jiwoo still had a ton of energy.

When Sooyoung looked over at Jinsol, she realized something very important. Jinsol saved her. Jinsol, who Sooyoung thought hated her, had saved her life. She couldn’t believe it. How could she ever repay such a favor? Why did she do it? This wasn’t stuff that enemies did.

And when Jinsol looked back at her, she smiled, like she knew exactly what Sooyoung was thinking.

Jinsol had saved her from drowning, and all Sooyoung could do was stare at her silently. How pathetic.

“Babes,” Jungeun whined. “Come on, let’s get back. I’m c-cold,” she shivered.

“Okay, baby,” Jinsol said, pressing a kiss to Jungeun’s wet forehead. “Let’s go back.”

Sooyoung followed behind them in silence, completely at a loss for words. Nothing could describe the weird feelings that consumed her because of Jinsol’s altruism.

* * *

“You have no idea how proud I am of you two,” Jungeun said for probably the third time since their departure from the celebration party Yeojin threw for Sooyoung and Jinsol in the Room of Requirement. “Tying for first place in this task. Now, you’re both first and second overall!? Really, the tournament is anyone’s game now. I have the most talented girlfriends ever.”

“Aww, babe,” Jinsol cooed, “your lips are still looking blue!”

“Jinsol!”

Jungeun screeched loudly, which only meant Jinsol tried to kiss Jungeun unexpectedly. The poor girl still got flustered because of sudden affection.

Sooyoung had been mostly quiet since the task. She knew she should be celebrating because she finally found her groove again, and everybody loved her. Miss Sunmi had voiced her approval of Sooyoung’s performance during the task. Several girls nearly knocked each other over trying to talk to her after the task ended. She kept the conversation brief since she didn’t really feel like talking to anybody. Then, Jungeun convinced her to go to the party, and well, she couldn’t say no to her.

But now that Jungeun had reached her peak fun, they were leading the girl back to the Gryffindor common room. It was nearly ten anyway. Sooyoung walked in front of Jinsol and Jungeun quietly while the two girls continued to chat, and all Sooyoung could think about was Jinsol. She couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that Jinsol saved her life. Was she really wrong about this girl?

In her mind, she imagined Jinsol as an evil, conniving bitch that everybody thought was the sweetest, but only Sooyoung could see the nasty parts of her. Sooyoung had seen some sides to her she was sure no one else wanted to see. For example, the angry glares sent in her direction in the middle of class when some of their classmates complimented Sooyoung but not her. How quick she was to attack Sooyoung with her wand whenever she was jealous. She never understood how Jinsol could even be jealous of her when Jinsol had everything Sooyoung ever wanted.

Sometimes Sooyoung couldn’t believe she even kissed Jinsol. The memory would creep into her mind some days when she least expected it, and she hated how it made her stomach flutter. She convinced herself that she only kissed her to please Jungeun, and it only felt good because there was so much tension between them. 

She wondered if Jinsol thought about it too. She wondered if Jinsol thought about her too.

“Soo? Are you doing okay? You’ve been really quiet,” Jungeun said softly, coming up behind Sooyoung and hugging her.

Sooyoung paused and turned around. “Yes, baby, I’m okay. I’m just tired,” she reassured her. Her gaze moved to Jinsol, and her chest tightened when she found her staring right back at her. Her heart pounded so loudly she was afraid Jungeun would hear it.

“Hmmm, okay,” Jungeun said sleepily, accepting her answer.

They finally made it to the portrait in front of the Gryffindor common room. Jungeun beamed at her two girlfriends then moved to kiss both of them on the lips. Sooyoung first, then Jinsol. “Have a good night, you two. Thanks for today. You both worked really hard.”

“Goodnight, Jungeun,” they both said softly.

Jungeun whispered the password, and the portrait swung open. Sooyoung turned around and made her descent down the Grand Staircase.

“Sooyoung,” Jinsol called gently.

Sooyoung gripped the railing and stopped halfway down the stairs. She was afraid of looking back at Jinsol because all of the confusing thoughts and feelings would come rushing back. So, she stayed still. “Why did you save me?” she asked.

Jinsol let out a soft breath. “What kind of question is that?”

“If it were me, I would’ve let you drown,” Sooyoung said.

Jinsol snorted. “No, you wouldn’t.”

_ She’s right,  _ Sooyoung thought.  _ I wouldn’t.  _

“I saved you because it’s the right thing to do. And, well, Jungeun would hate me if I let you drown.”

Sooyoung frowned as a feeling of disappointment washed over her. So Jinsol didn’t do it because she really cared about her. Not that she cared or anything…

She needed to stop lying to herself. Because when Jinsol looked down at her with the softest expression Sooyoung had ever seen directed at her, she never felt more vulnerable. She cared about what others thought of her, and maybe it hurt more knowing Jinsol didn’t care about her.

“That’s all?” Sooyoung asked, gaze trained to her feet.

“I don’t know what you’re expecting me to say, Sooyoung,” Jinsol said shakily.

“I’m not expecting you to say anything,” she said defensively.

“Then why won’t you look at me?”

Sooyoung’s nostrils flared, and she forced herself to look up at the blonde. “I’m just confused because I thought you hated me.”

Jinsol bit her lip. “Well, don’t you hate me? How does that make any difference?”

“No, Jinsol,” Sooyoung grumbled in agitation, “I don’t hate you.”

Jinsol’s eyes widened. A look of what Sooyoung believed was relief washed over her face. “Sooyoung…” She was shaking violently, probably filled with the same amount of heavy emotion that Sooyoung had. Because with Jinsol, it was always complicated.

“What?”

“I don’t hate you either.”

Then, she said something Sooyoung never expected to leave her mouth ever.

“I’m sorry.”

She didn’t say what she was sorry for. There were multiple things she could be sorry for. Sorry for attacking her. Sorry for hating her. Sorry for sabotaging her. Sorry for being so goddamn perfect for the world that now whenever Sooyoung looked at her, she felt like she was suffocating. But it was something. It was enough for now.

“I’m sorry too,” Sooyoung said, and she meant it.

It wasn’t a clear apology either. It was a declaration that Sooyoung and Jinsol understood each other for once, and it gave her hope that maybe things could change. She never wanted to fight with Jinsol in the first place. It sort of just happened. She didn’t like that Jinsol was so close to the girl she thought was really pretty. But now that they had said girl, she felt like she had no reason to argue with Jinsol anymore. So, why should they keep fighting?

Sooyoung stepped forward, took a deep breath, and gently hugged Jinsol. She felt the blonde tense up, and honestly, Sooyoung couldn’t blame her. She didn’t expect herself to be doing something so  _ soft.  _ But having the blonde in her arms felt too nice for her liking. The hug made her stomach flutter again.

Then, when Jinsol slowly hugged her back, she felt like she was floating. Maybe she was light-headed from all the emotions she was feeling. Maybe it was the Veela charm getting to her head. Maybe it was Jinsol just being so damn perfect it was hard not to feel like this.

Sooyoung could safely say that this was the point where they could truly start over and repair their relationship. 

And she wasn’t just doing this for Jungeun’s sake, Sooyoung was doing this because she had to acknowledge what she had been ignoring for so long. She cared about Jinsol a lot more than she thought she did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we are back to jungeun's pov next chapter but i hope you all liked sooyoung's she was very fun to write!! next chapter we will be addressing a side concern that's been hinted throughout the entire fic so far. look forward to that! thank you all for reading!
> 
> twitter:  
> @hyeiipves  
> curious cat:  
> curiouscat.me/hyeslipse


	11. TEN: RECONCILIATION

_ “Heo Yoorim has the Quaffle. Hwang Yeji and Son Chaeyoung are close on her tail. Son Hyejoo about to hit Heo with a Bludger…” _

_ “AND SHE MISSES! Oh, dear, and Hogwarts’s best Chaser Heo Yoorim scores, narrowly being blocked by Slytherin Keeper Kim Doyeon. Ravenclaw leads 120-70.” _

Jungeun bit her lip. Quidditch season was back in full force after wrapping up the second task. Luckily, Gryffindor wouldn’t be playing Hufflepuff until next week, so Jungeun had plenty of time to prepare her team. Really, she was only watching this match to determine how many points Gryffindor would have to beat Ravenclaw months later during the May match. Slytherin was severely slacking this game. It was almost embarrassing.

She was sitting with the rest of the Gryffindor team and Jinsol, who was way too excited to tag along, saying something on the lines of, “Wherever Jungeun goes, I go.” 

“You are so corny!” Yeojin had mocked in reply.

Usually, they all sat together during Quidditch matches so they could learn from what was unfolding in front of them. Jungeun also wanted to get a better idea of how many points they needed to beat Hufflepuff next Saturday to maintain their first place position in the House Quidditch Cup.

Currently, Gryffindor was leading with 260 total points, followed by Ravenclaw with 230. Then Slytherin with a measly 30 points, and finally, Hufflepuff with 20 points. Ravenclaw was the team to look out for this year.

“If Ravenclaw catches the snitch now, they’ll be in first place in the tournament with 500 points,” Jinsol remarked. “You guys would have to win your match against Hufflepuff by at least 240 points.”

“Oh, look at her, she can do math,” Yeri said dreamily, “she’s so hot when she talks all nerdy. Hey, Jinsol, start talking about those skeleton horses again!”

Before Jinsol could even open her mouth to explain anything, Sooyoung turned around and glared at the pink-haired girl. “Shut up.”

Jungeun squeezed her girlfriend’s hand gently. “Babe, she’s just joking-”

“Jealous that she called me hot and not you?” Jinsol smirked, looking at Sooyoung over Jungeun’s head.

The celebrity snorted and rolled her eyes playfully. “You wish.”

“So for us to pull this off and have any chance of going to the Quidditch finals,” Heejin said, shooting daggers at Sooyoung and Jinsol for interrupting their team strategy talk, “we have to flatten Hufflepuff, which should be easy and all except that Jo Serim plays dirty, and I know she’s going to try and jump on my broom. Remember two years ago?”

“She was literally about to rip the straw off your broom,” Yeojin chuckled. “And when you weren’t here last year… Oh, man…”

Lisa smirked. “Oh, yeah, that was the game where Jungeun let you play Seeker after your childish whining. Serim caught the snitch in one minute.”

Yeojin turned bright red while the rest of her teammates and Jinsol burst out laughing at her. She hid her face in her hands and groaned. “Yeah, yeah, laugh at me all you want. I will have my revenge!”

Jungeun turned her attention back to the game. The score hadn’t changed much since she last checked. She shivered quietly. She hated how cold March weather could be and wanted nothing more to curl up by the Gryffindor common room fire with a mug of hot chocolate. Hopefully, the game would be ending soon. She turned her head to look at Sooyoung and then at Jinsol. They had both turned back to the game. Sooyoung’s brows furrowed in concentration, and Jinsol’s lips protruded into a pout.

One thing Jungeun had noticed since the end of the second task was another shift of behavior in Jinsol and Sooyoung. It wasn’t like after the Yule Ball when Jungeun thought like she was waiting for a time bomb to go off. It was almost like the fiery spirits of Jinsol and Sooyoung had dimmed a little bit. Had they finally stopped wanting to rip each other’s throats out? Jungeun almost didn’t want to trust it.

Sooyoung told Jungeun in confidence that Jinsol saved her life during the second task. That was something Sooyoung could never forget and was eternally grateful for. Maybe that had something to do with the shift in behavior. And, well, Jungeun wasn’t complaining at all. If things were going to change for the better  _ finally,  _ then so be it. The last thing she wanted was to break up another one of her girlfriends’ stupid fights.

Still, she was curious to see whether this budding amicability between them would go anywhere. They had a long few months before the third task, and a lot could happen in that time.

_ “Kim Dahyun and Lee Donghyuck are neck and neck, edging dangerously close to the snitch,”  _ Yerim announced.  _ “This is a test of pure skill now. Both Lee and Kim have Nimbus 2010s.” _

“Now, Yves, when are you gonna get us all Firebolt Supremes?” Yeri asked, sticking her head right in between Sooyoung and Jungeun. “We have a Quidditch All-Star playing with us. You can’t make us all look like clow-”

Jungeun glared menacingly at the pink-haired girl. “Will you stop harassing my girlfriends?” She turned back and rolled her eyes. “I’m so sorry, you two. She just needs to mind her business.”

“That was kind of hot,” Sooyoung said bluntly, putting an arm around Jungeun. “Putting her in her place like that. Don’t you agree, Jinsol?”

Jinsol grinned and planted a kiss on Jungeun’s cheek. The poor sixth year’s ears were now redder than her house colors. “Totally agree with you there, Sooyoung.”

Jungeun groaned in annoyance despite wanting to do a happy dance at the lack of aggression in either of her girlfriends’ tones.

_ “Lee Donghyuck about to grab the snitch…” _

Just then a green blur spiraled into the air, whacking a Bludger right at the Slytherin Seeker’s arm. Jungeun’s eyes nearly bulged out of the sockets. There was only one Beater on the Slytherin Quidditch Team who would be reckless enough to attack her own teammate, and it wasn’t Chou Tzuyu.

_ “I- I-”  _ Yerim stuttered.  _ “Professor Young, am I allowed to say this because I’m about to say some very nasty curse words-” _

The Hufflepuff commentator screeched when Professor Young tried to grab the microphone out of Yerim’s hands.

_ “SON HYEJOO JUST ATTACKED HER OWN TEAMMATE WITH A BLUDGER!”  _ Yerim screamed.  _ “...Kim Dahyun catches the snitch? Ravenclaw wins the game!? 270-70, final score...”  _ The microphone crackled a bit when the notorious sunshine Choi Yerim started bellowing,  _ “SON HYEJOO, WHAT THE FRICK FRACK IS WRONG WITH YOU?” _

Jungeun couldn’t believe what had just happened was even real. Had it not been for her teammates roaring with laughter behind her and Jinsol’s expression so shocked she looked like she was going to faint, she would’ve believed that Yerim was trying to trick all of them.

The stadium was in an uproar. The Slytherin section was outraged. The Ravenclaw section’s applause was thunderous. Jennie was so furious that her head looked like it was going to explode. Hyejoo had her head bowed while her teammates screamed at her on the pitch below. And poor Lee Donghyuck was screaming in pain while being put on a stretcher and taken to the Hospital Wing.

“Had this happened at Durmstrang,” Sooyoung chuckled, “Hyejoo would’ve been jinxed into a cherry tomato.”

“Had this happened at Beauxbatons,” Jinsol added on, “nobody really cares much about Quidditch at Beauxbatons. She probably would’ve been shunned for a day, and that’s it.”

Jungeun sighed in disbelief. “Why did she do that!? God, I’m so mad at her, and I’m not even her Quidditch captain.” She let out a dramatic huff and lay her head on Jinsol’s comfortable shoulder. Jinsol smiled giddily at her and stroked her hair.

Out of the corner of Jungeun’s eye, she could see a familiar head of blonde hair exit the stadium from the Ravenclaw section with the most distraught expression Jungeun had ever seen. Out of all the reactions to Hyejoo’s strange stunt, Chaewon’s was the most heartbreaking.

It hit Jungeun then, watching Chaewon wipe the tears from her eyes as she turned back to look at Hyejoo in pure disappointment that she couldn’t ignore her friend’s worries anymore.

Something had been wrong with Hyejoo and Chaewon for a while, and the situation was too dire for Jungeun to ignore it anymore.

* * *

Two days after the Quidditch game on Saturday, Hyejoo had been basically shunned from Slytherin house. Jungeun heard from Lisa, who heard from “her source on the Slytherin team” (no doubt Jennie), that Hyejoo was temporarily suspended from the team until they could find a replacement Beater. Good luck with that. Hyejoo was one of the best Beaters in the school. No way anyone could replace her.

Jungeun, Jiwoo, and Heejin left their morning Double Charms period, a very interesting yet chaotic lesson. Professor Son taught them the Water-Making spell, and a few students, not naming names but Jiwoo was definitely involved, ended up nearly flooding the classroom. Jungeun and her friends made their way to lunch soaked and disappointed. Only Hyunjin had managed to cast the spell perfectly on her first try. What a show-off.

“Did you know they’re starting up Apparition lessons next week?” Heejin asked on the way to the Great Hall.

“What’s Apparition?” Jiwoo asked with wide eyes, running her small hands through her sopping wet hair.

“Wizard teleportation,” Jungeun explained, “I wonder how they’re going to do it though since you can’t apparate on Hogwarts grounds. Maybe the Ministry is lifting the restrictions for us?”

Jiwoo beamed excitedly. “I wanna learn how to teleport!”

_ “Apparate,”  _ Heejin corrected sharply. “It costs twelve galleons, and it’s a twelve-week course. Remember when Haseul took it last year? She splinched her ear during the first lesson.”

“S-Splinched?” Jiwoo stuttered.

Heejin smirked. “Oh, you know, when you accidentally leave a part of your body behind when you apparate.”

“A PART OF MY BODY!?”

“Merlin, Heejin! Don’t make her faint,” Jungeun hissed.

“Will you at least talk to me, Chaewon!?”

“I have nothing to say to you, Hyejoo.”

Jungeun, Jiwoo, and Heejin halted in their steps and sent each other knowing looks. Chaewon and Hyejoo. Knowing how reserved both girls were, this was the only way Jungeun could get a good idea about what was going on between the two girls. She ushered her two best friends behind a gargoyle statue. Slowly poking her head out, she watched the Slytherin and Ravenclaw argue as they made their way down the corridor.

“I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong,” Hyejoo said desperately. “I blew the previous Quidditch game for you at the risk of everyone hating me, and somehow that makes you angrier?”

“Because you didn’t need to do that!” Chaewon shot back. “What made you think I wanted you to break Donghyuck’s arm?”

“I…” Hyejoo swallowed the lump in her throat. “We’re usually so in sync. It’s you and me, and me and you, but lately I feel like I’m losing you.” She bowed her head. “I don’t know what you want from me, Chaewon. You know how much I love you…”

Chaewon sighed. “I know you love me, and I love you too, Hyejoo. So much that I hate when you do dumb things without thinking. There’s just…”

“What will it take for us to finally be together?” Hyejoo blurted out. “What will it take for you to say yes to being my girlfriend? I’m doing everything I can, Chaewon. I-It doesn’t feel like it’s enough. It doesn’t feel like I’m enough.”

Chaewon let out a soft noise and moved to wrap her arms around the taller girl. Hyejoo stiffened in shock but eagerly reciprocated the hug. “You are doing everything right, Hyejoo. I know I’ll be happy with you, but something is holding me back.”

“Why?” Hyejoo sounded so heartbroken. “It doesn’t make any sense!”

“Your family, Hyejoo,” Chaewon said firmly. “Your family will never love me, and I can’t stand to drive a wedge between you and them.”

Hyejoo’s breath hitched, and she pulled away to look at Chaewon. “That’s not for you to decide! Because I would choose you over them in a heartbeat! My feelings for you are  _ real  _ and so, so strong.”

“But I don’t want you to choose me over them.”

“Chaewon…”

“I need space, Hyejoo.”

Hyejoo frowned. “Space!? We’ve been distant for the past few weeks!” Her eyes widened, a look of pure panic washed over her features. “A-Are we ending things?”

“I don’t know, Hyejoo.”

“Chaewon, please think about this,” Hyejoo begged. “Are you even listening to what you’re saying? To what I’m saying?” She shook her head. “I don’t even get why you would think my mother wouldn’t like you.  _ I  _ think you’re the most amazing girl in the entire world. There’s nobody like you. You’re the only reason I want to smile these days.”

Chaewon’s brows furrowed. She looked guilty but not enough to reconsider what she was doing. “It’s not about  _ me.  _ It’s about the blood that runs through my veins. All pureblood families are the same.”

“This is about  _ blood status? _ ” Hyejoo barked in disbelief. “Who gives a shit about blood status these days? Society has surpassed the need to give a shit about blood status!”

The blonde quivered at Hyejoo’s loud voice. She bit her lip and shrugged. “You can’t blame me for being scared,” Chaewon said quietly. “I’m sorry, Hyejoo.”

And with that, she turned on her heels and walked off, blonde hair cascading over her face to hide the evident tears beginning to form.

“Chaewon, wait! Wait! Don’t- I’m-” Hyejoo called after her. “Chae…” She brought her hand up to her mouth and sobbed. 

The sight was heart-wrenching for Jungeun. She knew things were bad between Hyejoo and Chaewon, but she didn’t think they were this bad. How long had this been going on? At the beginning of the year, Chaewon had mentioned they weren’t exclusive. If she didn’t want to commit to Hyejoo, then why did they act like they were inseparable?

“I love you. I’ll keep fighting for you,” Hyejoo whispered before taking off in the opposite direction.

After a few moments of silence, the three girls climbed out from behind the gargoyle. Jungeun felt like they definitely shouldn’t have overheard that conversation, but it gave Jungeun enough information for them to try and mend their relationship. Jungeun knew it was wrong to meddle, but it stroked her motherly instincts and her strong urge to fix every problem she came across. She felt like she had a moral obligation to bring together the two people who couldn’t be more perfect for each other.

“So, what now?” Heejin asked, looking at Jungeun like she would know what to do.

“We fix this,” Jungeun said simply.

* * *

“Babe, do you think your family would hate me if you introduced me to them?” Jungeun asked, swinging Sooyoung and hers joined hands as they walked across the bridge to the school grounds.

It was a quiet afternoon, a little too cold for people to be outside, but it didn’t take much convincing for Sooyoung to accompany Jungeun to the Owlery. Convincing Sooyoung to do what she wanted she learned was way too easy. And honestly? Jungeun knew she could use this power for a lot more evil than good. Jinsol was the same way. Both pretty girls were wrapped around Jungeun’s little finger. Oh, the things she could do with that power.

With great power comes great responsibility, and Jungeun liked to say she was the most responsible in her group of friends.

But back to the topic at hand, considering they had just been talking about Quidditch maneuvers, and Sooyoung was complimenting her endlessly, this was a bit of a weird topic change. But Jungeun needed to get a second opinion about the Chaewon and Hyejoo situation, and who better than her own girlfriend?

“Why would they?” Sooyoung asked. “You’re my hot, sexy girlfriend. I don’t think anyone could dislike you.”

“Sooyoung, this is serious.”

Sooyoung let out a soft whine. She batted her eyelashes innocently and gave Jungeun the most adorable look. “I’m being serious! I don’t think anyone could dislike you, like, ever. You’re perfect.”

Jungeun’s cheeks flushed. The compliment made her roll her eyes as she bashfully squeezed Sooyoung’s hand. This girl was so charming for absolutely no reason. “Baby, stop it. You’re embarrassing me.”

“Just being honest!”

She sighed gently and looked up at Sooyoung. “I was just asking because I wonder if your parents care about blood status. I know there’s been a significant shift in the past few decades ending the stigma against blood status, but you never know with old wizarding families,” she explained.

“Wait a minute…” Sooyoung’s brows furrowed. “You’re not a pureblood?”

“No, Sooyoung,” Jungeun said, raising a brow. “I was literally explaining to you yesterday why I hate that you can’t get a cell phone signal at Hogwarts.” She narrowed her eyes at her girlfriend’s dumbfounded expression, suddenly feeling a lot more defensive. “What? Is being a half-blood going to be a problem for you?”

“No!” Sooyoung quickly said. She shook her head rapidly. “No, darling, not at all. I just had… no idea.” Her nose scrunched up, and her eyes darted side to side, almost as if she was trying to hide something or lie. Jungeun had a strong suspicion that Sooyoung’s family would care about her blood status suddenly.

Jungeun snorted disappointedly. “Figured as much.”

“Hey,” Sooyoung said, stopping in her tracks and making Jungeun look at her. “It’s like you said. The stigmatizing of blood status has gone down a lot, and I’m kind of the black sheep of the family,” she explained. “It’s all because I don’t wanna follow in my parents’ footsteps and would rather play Quidditch. My parents are real assholes. Once I’m done with the school year, I’m moving out. I don’t give a fuck if they don’t like our relationship because you’re not who they want me to date. I have  _ the  _ most amazing girlfriend in the entire world, and they’re morons if they don’t approve of you.” She gently cupped Jungeun’s cheek. “I don’t need my family and their stupid backward ways, not if I can have you instead.”

Jungeun felt like she was going to melt because of Sooyoung’s words. She always knew exactly what to say. And unlike Chaewon, she actually believed Sooyoung. Because Sooyoung cared a whole lot about what people thought of her. She could imagine that she held her parents’ opinions up as the highest. So to risk everything, defy her parents’ wishes for a girl like her… That was why she never once doubted Sooyoung’s feelings for her. Nobody was braver than Ha Sooyoung.

She stood on her toes and pecked Sooyoung’s lips. “You really mean that?” she asked softly with wide eyes. “So, would you say it’s plausible that many purebloods feel the same way as you? They’d be willing to reject their family’s values?”

“I think so,” Sooyoung nodded. “I rejected them at a young age. I don’t think it’s impossible.” Her eyebrow shot up, and she ranked her teeth over her lower lip. “Why are you asking all these heavy questions?”

As they trudged up the hill to the Owlery, Jungeun went on to explain to Sooyoung the argument she witnessed between Chaewon and Hyejoo. Sooyoung nodded gently as she listened to Jungeun speak, eyebrows furrowing while she tried to formulate a proper conclusion. She couldn’t help but think Sooyoung looked adorable when she was concentrating. Sooyoung wasn’t the type of person to sit down and ponder things, but when she did, Jungeun wanted to kiss the creases on her forehead.

“I think Hyejoo is being genuine,” Sooyoung concluded, “but Chaewon has a right to be worried. Isn’t she a Muggle-born?”

Jungeun shook her head. “That’s a common misconception. She’s actually a half-blood and a quarter Veela,” she explained. “Did you know she’s distant cousins with Jinsol?”

Sooyoung laughed, but it sounded a lot more like an exhale like it did a laugh. “Of course, she is.” She rolled her eyes then  _ actually  _ laughed. “You know how Jinsol’s hair kind of dances and glows while she walks or whatever? Kind of saw that with Chaewon, but I wasn’t  _ sure.” _

“You’re  _ so  _ poetic,” Jungeun mocked, “describing Jinsol’s hair like that. It’s almost like you think about Jinsol’s hair  _ all  _ the time.” She held in her laughter when Sooyoung’s face turned beet red. Yeah, Jungeun could be really annoying on purpose sometimes. “I didn’t even know jocks had that brain capacity.”

“Didn’t you get all perfect OWLs?”

Jungeun refused to answer that.

“Almost perfect OWLs?” Sooyoung tried again with a shit-eating grin.

She rolled her eyes at the celebrity. “Okay, yeah, I did. What does that have to do with you thinking of love poems about Jinsol’s hair?”

Sooyoung groaned agitatedly. She yanked on Jungeun’s hand and whined. “Stop teasing me,” she pouted. “It’s not funny.”

Jungeun relented only because Sooyoung was being too adorable. She tangled her hand in Sooyoung’s soft hair and pulled her down for a gentle kiss. Sooyoung relaxed into Jungeun’s hold and reciprocated the kiss. “Sorry,” Jungeun apologized against her lips, “it was just too tempting.”

Sooyoung hummed gently and pecked her lips once more.

“And for the record, I do think about Jinsol’s hair a lot. Definitely one of the most magical things about her,” Jungeun remarked.

They climbed the stairs of the Owlery tower. Jungeun usually didn’t like coming out here because of the atrocious smell of owl poop, and nine out of ten times she would find Yeojin and her friends scheming. Sooyoung, being the gentlewoman that she was, kindly opened the heavy door for Jungeun. And luckily, this was one of the rare times she didn’t find the loud-mouthed Gryffindor hanging upside down from the stairwell.

Instead, Jung Jinsol with her hair shining in the dim lighting was feeding Pierre owl treats.

“Well, speak of the devil,” Sooyoung said, closing the door behind Jungeun and her, “nice straw hair, Jinsol.”

She facepalmed.  _ Didn’t you literally romanticize her hair like two minutes ago?  _ Jungeun wanted to yell. Sometimes she could not understand what went through Sooyoung’s pea-sized brain.

Jinsol accidentally dropped one of the owl treats on the ground and yelped in surprise. “Sooyoung! And Jungeun, too! Hi!” She bashfully reached down to pick up the treat on the ground. “Ignoring your dumb comment, Sooyoung. Because my hair is not straw, and you know it too,” she chastised, turning to face Jungeun. “I gave Celeste treats too, sorry. If I had known you were coming here…”

“No, it’s okay,” Jungeun cut her off reassuringly. She turned to Sooyoung, who was staring and Jinsol’s hair. She snickered quietly. Sometimes she wondered how Sooyoung could even say she hated Jinsol when she always looked at her like that. And no, she wasn’t jealous. Jealousy never even crossed her mind when she knew how devoted Sooyoung and Jinsol were to her. She just found this interaction so  _ amusing.  _ “Soo and I were just having a nice stroll, talking about life, y’know…” She awkwardly made a finger gun hand signal and clicked her tongue.

“Oh?” Jinsol’s head perked up. “Anything interesting?”

“Yes,” Sooyoung answered. “Jungeun has some very interesting friend drama. Chaewon doesn’t wanna date Hyejoo because she’s afraid Hyejoo’s family will hate her. That’s so last century, right?”

“Shut up, Sooyoung,” she huffed. “Can you give me more context, baby?”

Jungeun went to explain the story for a second time. How she had been worried about Chaewon since the beginning of the year. How the past few weeks Hyejoo and Chaewon had seemed distant. How she caught Hyejoo and Chaewon arguing in the Charms corridor, and how Jungeun’s heart ached for her close friend.

Jinsol gently stroked Pierre’s head and nodded sympathetically. “Oh, those poor kids,” she said softly. “I just want to pull them into my arms and give them a soft hug. I wish there was a way we could magically make them understand each other. Is there anything we can do?”

“I want to try and get them to talk to each other,” Jungeun explained, “but I’m worried Chaewon will refuse to try and hear Hyejoo out.”

“Then you find a way to lure Chaewon to Hyejoo or vice versa… or corner them,” Jinsol suggested. “Nicely, of course, but I think you should try and get Chaewon’s side of the story. There might be a lot more to Chaewon’s rationale than we know of. You did, after all, only overhear her conversation.”

Sooyoung’s eyes lit up brightly. She leaned against the wall of the Owlery and hummed in thought. “Wait, now, what if we slipped them a love potion…”

“No,” Jungeun and Jinsol said.

Jinsol’s nostrils flared. “Are you crazy!?”

“I don’t even know how to make a love potion,” Jungeun added on. “Professor Kang hasn’t covered that.”

“Geez, tough crowd,” Sooyoung muttered, gaze moving to her feet.

“I’m not trying to call you stupid,” Jinsol started to say, “but I really think you should consider why you thought a love potion would be a better idea than… I don’t know… communicating?”

“Thank you for your criticism, but I’ve decided I will not take it,” she merely replied.

It was exchanges like these that made Jungeun wonder why Sooyoung and Jinsol had to act like they hated each other because Jungeun thought they had rhe potential to be  _ really, really  _ good friends. Such a shame. They were hilarious. So, Jungeun didn’t even bother holding back her laughter.

“What’s so funny, baby?” Jinsol asked. God, she loved it when Jinsol called her baby. She always felt like she was floating.

Jungeun shrugged, making her way over to Jinsol. “Mmm, nothing, I just think you guys are really cute,” she mused. “It’s a nice change. I’d like it to stay.”

“Did you miss the part where she nicely called me stupid?” Sooyoung asked incredulously.

“Yeah, well, you guys are bantering. There’s a difference. There’s no malicious intent behind your words, right?” She narrowed her eyes and looked at the two girls who gave each other nervous looks. Jungeun could be intimidating when she was serious. “Right?”

“Yeah.”

“Of course.”

Jinsol clung to Jungeun and brought her lips to Jungeun’s. Jungeun gave Sooyoung a side-eyed glance to see how she would react to Jinsol kissing her in her presence. She had said before that she was worried that Jungeun would favor Jinsol over her, and Jungeun never wanted to make her girlfriend uncomfortable. Her relationships worked because they were all willing to adapt. If that had not been the case, Jungeun obviously wouldn’t be standing here now.

To her surprise, Sooyoung didn’t seem that bothered. She saw that Jungeun was looking at her and gave her a reassuring smile as if to remind her that everything was okay.

“Mmm,” Jinsol hummed, running her tongue over Jungeun’s lower lip teasingly. “You’re wearing that lip gloss I like again. The green apples.”

Sooyoung brought her fingers up to her own lips, eyes widening. Then, she cackled loudly.

Jinsol broke the kiss at lightning speed, glaring defensively at Sooyoung. “What’s so funny, huh?”

“Nothing, nothing, it’s just…” Sooyoung clutched her stomach and used the stone wall for support. She was about to fall over from laughing so hard. “Jinsol… that’s my lip gloss. I wear green apple lip gloss.”

Jinsol’s breath hitched. She looked at Sooyoung, then at Jungeun, then at Sooyoung again. “Y-You mean- This entire time-”

“If you want a better taste, come give me a kiss, Jinsol,” Sooyoung purred.

Jungeun started laughing like Sooyoung was the funniest person on earth, and she was. She always laughed at Sooyoung’s jokes even when no one else did, so she assumed that meant that Sooyoung was the funniest person to ever walk the planet.

The blonde’s ears turned bright red. She stammered and sputtered, trying to formulate a proper sentence, but both Sooyoung and Jungeun were laughing so hard that her embarrassment was amplified.

“I- You- Goodbye!”

Jinsol rushed out of the Owlery swiftly, slamming the door behind her. Jungeun and Sooyoung grabbed each other’s hands again and followed after her.

“Wait! Jinsol! You didn’t give me a smoochie!” Sooyoung called after Jinsol, who was marching down the hill with her fists balled up.

“I should’ve let you drown, Ha Sooyoung!”

“Yeah, you should’ve!”

Watching Jinsol’s retreating figure, she chuckled and shook her head. “Why do you wanna kiss her so badly?” Jungeun asked, raising her eyebrow.

Sooyoung shrugged indifferently. “For shits and giggles.”

Jungeun rolled her eyes. “Right,” she muttered under her breath. 

This was territory that Jungeun was unfamiliar with. Obviously, Jinsol and Sooyoung always bantered. Bantering was one thing. But bantering  _ and _ borderline flirting? She never thought she would ever witness something done so unabashedly, but Ha Sooyoung was relentless. Yet, she wasn’t jealous or threatened by it. Call it her  _ brilliant  _ intuition, which her friends would argue that she had none, but something told her that this would become a new reality.

Last time she thought something would change, they broke out into a duel. This time, she hoped her optimism wasn’t misplaced. 

_ It better not be,  _ Jungeun thought.  _ Because I don’t want to look like an idiot again, and I think I’ve looked like an idiot enough this year. _

* * *

Jungeun relayed the advice that she got from her amazing, beautiful, perfect girlfriends to Heejin and Jiwoo in the Gryffindor common room. The three of them together weren’t exactly the smartest when it came to formulating actual  _ good  _ plans. For example, Jiwoo suggested about five times that they try to break into the Ravenclaw common room. 

First of all, even with the combined brainpower of all three of them, there was no way they could ever attempt to solve the Ravenclaw common room riddle. For a better comparison, their combined brainpower was the equivalent of a small preschooler. Second of all, if the Ravenclaw Quidditch team found out Heejin and Jungeun tried to break in, they wouldn’t hear the end of it.

Then, Heejin suggested they try and break into the Slytherin common room. All Jungeun had to say was, “What is everyone’s obsession with breaking into other people’s common rooms? We can’t go in them for a reason!”

“It’s true,” Jiwoo replied. “I once tried to follow Haseul into the Hufflepuff common room and got doused in vinegar.”

“Amateur,” Yeojin laughed loudly, clearly overhearing their conversation as she sauntered across the common room. “You have to tap the barrel in the rhythm of ‘Helga Hufflepuff.’”

“I thought Hufflepuff had two syllables!”

This was why Jiwoo was a Gryffindor.

“If you’re trying to corner Hyejoo, you definitely won’t find her in the Slytherin common room,” Yeojin informed them. “They’ve essentially shunned her. It’s really messed up. Yeri says that Joy told her that it’ll only last a week, but it’s crazy what her own house has been doing to her.” She plopped down on the armchair near the notice board that had an unflattering drawing of Professor Byun with a troll’s body. Jungeun believed the artist was sitting right next to her artwork. “They’ve found a way to trick the door to not open even when Hyejoo says the correct password.”

“So then what does she do?” Heejin asked.

Yeojin shrugged. “Waits for another person to let her in. You know what’s crazy? Donghyuck apologized for being in the way of Hyejoo’s Bludger! I guess he feels bad. If only Hyejoo actually talked to Chaewon about what’s bothering her… Man, my friend group is fucked.”

“To me, it sounds like Slytherins are a lot more proud than Gryffindors,” Jungeun remarked. “Who would’ve thought? Unless, of course, you’re exaggerating. I wouldn’t put it past you to make up lies about Slytherins, Im Yeojin.”

The fifth year winked and stuck her tongue out.

“If we’re being fair,” Heejin hummed, “I think the Slytherins’ reactions are sort of justified. Imagine sabotaging your own teammate!” She swung her feet off the couch and hugged one of the velvet pillows close to her chest. “Jungeun, what would you do if Yeojin smacked a Bludger at me and cost us the game?”

“Laugh, to be honest.”

Heejin threw the velvet pillow at Jungeun’s face, causing the other girl to screech at the collision.

“Also, very bold of you to assume that it’d be me that sabotages the team,” Yeojin said, narrowing her eyes at Heejin. “Both Lisa and Yeri are sleeping with the enemy-”

“Sleeping with the enemy? Where is that energy for you and Yerim?” Heejin growled defensively.

“Yerim is a Quidditch commentator, not a player,” Yeojin corrected her with an eye roll. “Jiwon and Eunji are on thin ice too, just so you know. I’m not totally biased.” She glanced towards the stairwell to the dormitory as if she was expecting for any of her teammates to make her way downstairs. “And if I’m being totally honest, I’m not just worried about Lisa and Yeri because of their entanglements with Slytherins. I’m worried because they’re  _ simps  _ too. _ ” _

Heejin’s eyebrows furrowed. Her expression gave Jungeun the impression that gears were turning in her head. Very slowly, of course. Heejin wasn’t the brightest of the bunch. “What does simp mean?”

“Muggle slang,” Yeojin huffed. “I hate purebloods.”

Heejin scowled, clearly offended at the mention of her blood status. Suddenly, Jungeun felt like this conversation was hitting way too close to home but in a reverse sense. “Jungeun, so help me, I’m going to get replaced on the team for beating this girl up with a Beater bat.”

“And then Yves will replace you as Seeker! Exactly!” Yeojin shouted gleefully.

“Alright, that’s it! I’m hexing you!”

Jungeun had to hold Heejin back while the two of them broke out into an argument insulting each other’s intelligence and Quidditch abilities.

“Can we  _ stop  _ talking about Quidditch?” Jiwoo squeaked. “Anytime I’m around you three, I swear, the conversation always turns to Quidditch!” She pouted and crossed her arms. “Shouldn’t we focus on saving my two children Hyejoo and Chaewon? That’s not going to happen when we talk about Quidditch and fight like children!” 

She stood up agitatedly, fixing her robe and looking down expectantly at Jungeun. “So, Heejin and Yeojin, apologize to each other now.”

Heejin’s eyes widened in confusion. “Huh?”

“NOW!”

All three girls jumped at Jiwoo’s loud voice. The girl was always loud, but it was a rare occasion when she was furious.

“I’m sorry,” Yeojin mumbled.

Heejin nodded slowly. “I’m sorry too…”

Jiwoo seemed satisfied by that answer. “C’mon, Jungie, let’s go.”

“Me? What-” 

Before Jungeun could finish her protest, Jiwoo yanked Jungeun out of her seat and dragged her to the portrait hole.

Jungeun furrowed her brows and cleared her throat. “Jiwoo, where are we going?”

“We are going to hunt down Hyejoo and Chaewon and facilitate a conversation!” Jiwoo said as they exited the common room. “The best way to fix everything is to confront them. We must take things into our own plans.”

“And where the hell are we going to find them in this big castle?”

“We will search every nook and cranny until we do. Mark my words, Kim Jungeun.”

Jiwoo’s impulse plans usually ended in failure, but at this point, Jungeun was desperate. She was sure her entire friend group definitely couldn’t go another day watching Hyejoo and Chaewon stare at each other longingly across the Great Hall, neither of them willing to make the first move to speak to each other. Chaewon asked for space, after all, but she seemed to have regretted that decision greatly judging by her glassy, red eyes.

This worst thing that could happen was Hyejoo and Chaewon’s relationship being ruined forever. That wasn’t so bad, right? Right? 

Oh, who was she kidding… Jungeun was very worried about the events about to unfold.

* * *

Finding Chaewon and Hyejoo were much easier than Jungeun expected. Or maybe time seemed to pass by faster when Jiwoo was dragging Jungeun around the castle with unbelievable strength and speed. Jungeun wondered why she had never asked Jiwoo to join the Quidditch team.

They found Hyejoo first. She was making her way up from the dungeon, no doubt rejected from entering her own common room when Jiwoo screamed, “Son Hyejoo!” Poor Hyejoo, she must have had a rough week. Jungeun wondered if the Slytherins were taking it a little too far.

Jiwoo clung to Hyejoo like a koala, screaming at her loudly about how she will never escape her grasp. Hyejoo was way stronger than Jiwoo though, and Jungeun was sure she was about to throw the smaller girl onto the ground. Luckily, Jungeun quickly intervened and explained to Hyejoo that they were trying to get Chaewon and Hyejoo to talk to each other.

“But she… she doesn’t want to talk to me,” Hyejoo said sadly. “I don’t know how to get her to listen. Why won’t she listen?”

“Don’t worry,” Jungeun assured her, patting the younger girl’s shoulder. “We’re going to make her listen to you.”

The Great Hall in the mid-afternoon wasn’t very occupied. Most students studied in their common rooms or in the library during their off time or roamed the castle with their friends. Jungeun wasn’t too worried about people overhearing their conversation,

They led Hyejoo to the unoccupied end of the Gryffindor table and sat her down. Hyejoo’s nose scrunched up. “Of course. I mean… I’m being shunned from my own house, might as well just sit me down right here to humiliate me more,” she remarked.

“Make sure she doesn’t leave,” Jiwoo said, glaring at Hyejoo. “I’m going to find Chaewon, and then we’re going to sort you out. You will kiss, kiss, fall in love!” Jungeun covered her mouth to hide her laughter. Some of the things that came out of Jiwoo’s mouth… truly extraordinary.

When Jiwoo skipped out of the Great Hall, Hyejoo looked down at her hands nervously. “She’s kind of scary,” Hyejoo said quietly, “but don’t tell her I said that.”

Jungeun agreed. Five years of being her best friend had created high tolerance for her intensity if that even was the right word for it, but there was no person more valuable to Jungeun than Jiwoo. She believed they would be best friends for life. So, she took even the slightest of insults to heart on her behalf. “Hey, don’t be mean,” she said firmly.

Hyejoo furrowed her brows then shrugged in defeat. “Just a joke…”

Then without much warning, which was either a brilliant or awful idea depending on Hyejoo’s receptiveness at that moment, Jungeun slipped into interrogation mode.

“How long have you and Chaewon been fighting?” Jungeun asked.

“Just this week…”

_ Liar. _

“Are you sure it was just this week?” she tried again.

Hyejoo shifted uncomfortably. “Why are you in my business?”

Jungeun shrugs meekly. “Well, uh, I overheard you and Chaewon on Monday…”

Hyejoo’s nose scrunched up, and her shoulders visibly tensed.

“Of course you did,” the younger girl said quietly, voice wavering slightly, “as if I’m not already the laughing stock of the school.”

“You’re not,” Jungeun quickly corrected her. “You’re not at all. There’s nothing… There’s nothing to be ashamed of.” She reached out and grabbed the younger girl’s hand, frowning slightly when she flinched under Jungeun’s touch. “We’re going to fix this, okay?”

“There’s nothing that can be fixed. She doesn’t trust me.”

Then, the girl burst into tears. And in the four years of knowing Hyejoo, Jungeun was sure she’d never seen her cry openly and willingly in front of her. If she wasn’t sure that Hyejoo was suffering before, this screamed it louder than Hyejoo actually saying it herself.

Hyejoo was helpless without Chaewon. She needed her more than she needed air.

The Great Hall doors swung open suddenly. Hyejoo snapped her head towards the door. “Fuck me,” she swore under her breath then hid her face in her hands, trying her best to recompose herself. Jungeun furrowed her brows and followed Hyejoo’s gaze. Jiwoo had found Chaewon, and it was safe to say Chaewon was no better looking than Hyejoo.

Her eyes were red and blotchy and had a look of pure terror. Whatever Jiwoo did when she tracked her down, it was enough to frighten Chaewon’s normally apathetic self. The blonde sniffled and looked over at Jiwoo, muttering an angry aside to the girl. Then, Chaewon wiped a few stray tears on her sleeve and finally looked over at Hyejoo.

That was enough to make the girl start crying again.

“Jiwoo, no, I want to leave,” Chaewon mumbled, yanking her hand out of Jiwoo’s grip.

Jiwoo shook her head and grabbed her arm again. “No! Don’t be a chicken! Go talk to Hyejoo!”

_ “Look  _ at her, Jiwoo,” Chaewon snapped. “She’s miserable.” Her breath hitched as she looked back at Hyejoo again. “I did this.” Her hand covered her mouth, gaze moving to her feet while Hyejoo cried softly into her hands.  _ “I  _ did this,” she repeated.

Jungeun couldn’t honestly stand it anymore. It was like trying to make two unmatching puzzle pieces fit together. She hated how easy she could make that comparison because when it came to Hyejoo and Chaewon, they had always been puzzle pieces that  _ did  _ fit together.

She made eye contact with Jiwoo, silently directing her to bring Chaewon over to them. “Hey, Chaewon? It’s not the end of the world yet,” she reassured her. “Come over here. Let’s sort this out.”

“Sort this out!?” Chaewon guffawed. “You’re out of your damn mind. There’s nothing that can be fixed! I’ll bet you five galleons that Hyejoo doesn’t want to talk to me.”

At that remark, Hyejoo started crying harder.

“Oh my  _ god,”  _ Chaewon groaned agitatedly. She sounded more angry at herself than Jiwoo or Jungeun. She strode over to Hyejoo, soft look already forming on her features. “Hey, Hyejoo…” she said unsurely, gaze briefly moving to Jungeun nervously. “Please don’t cry. I hate seeing you cry.”

Hyejoo’s shoulders sank, and she took a shaky breath. Her nose scrunched up as she looked back up at Chaewon. “You’re crying too!” she pointed out. “You stop crying first.”

“Ugh!” Chaewon let out a frustrated groan. “You’re so annoying, Hyejoo. You never listen to me.”

“Never listen to you!? Are you even listening to yourself?”

_ Oh, no, this is not good,  _ Jungeun thought.

“No! I mean, yes! I just don’t understand why you’re upset. You’re supposed to hate me.”

Hyejoo let out a frustrated sigh. “Chaewon, when did I ever make you feel like I hated you?”

“Well… Well… I- You-” Chaewon stammered. “Your family hates me. That’s the most important thing. I’m not good enough for you.”

“I don’t know how many times I have to explain this, but-”

“But nothing! I don’t want to hear it!”

Jungeun had enough. This conversation was clearly going in circles. She wondered if all of Hyejoo and Chaewon’s arguments were like this. Well, if they actually argued. Before the past month or so, Jungeun was certain that Hyejoo and Chaewon had never ever fought. And in some ways, selfishly, she was glad she didn’t have to deal with this before. 

“Stop it, both of you!” she yelled. Both girls nearly jumped in surprise at her loud, commanding tone. She ran a hand through her hair and shook her head in annoyance. “You both keep talking to each other about not listening. And I agree, I don’t think you both are actually  _ listening  _ to each other.”

“Yeah,” Jiwoo chimed in agreement. “It’s like you’re both talking to a wall.” She tilted her head to the side. “Or you’re both old and have hearing problems.”

Chaewon grimaced. “I am young, healthy, and beautiful, thank you very much.”

Hyejoo broke out into a small smile at Chaewon’s comment then quickly composed herself. “So… then, what are we doing wrong?”

“You’re both not communicating your thoughts and feelings and shutting the other down. That makes a very hostile environment!” Jiwoo explained. “You can’t listen and understand each other if you don’t actually make an effort to…”

Chaewon and Hyejoo exchanged looks.

“Right.”

“Okay.”

“Really? You’ll agree? Simple as that?” Jiwoo asked with a big grin.

Hyejoo shrugged. “Well, to be honest, I’m more scared about what will happen if I  _ don’t  _ agree.”

“Yeah, Jiwoo,” Chaewon agreed with a nod. “Your efforts to get us here are very… frightening.” She slid into the seat next to Jungeun, opposite of Hyejoo. The blonde bit her lip and looked down at her hands before looking up at Hyejoo. Though, she couldn’t maintain eye contact for long without flinching

The redhead looked proud, grinning at both girls triumphantly. “Then I consider this a job well done.” She laughed gently as she sat down next to Hyejoo. “Ah, well, not yet at least! But you’ll thank me later at your wedding.”

Jungeun thought Jiwoo was spewing nonsense again. “Jiwoo,  _ shut  _ up,” she hissed. “Why are you talking about marriage when they are clearly… ugh.” She shook her head in frustration.

Neither Chaewon nor Hyejoo had attempted to interrupt Jiwoo and Jungeun as they probably wanted to prolong talking to each other as long as possible.  _ Idiots,  _ Jungeun thought.  _ If this happened between Sooyoung or Jinsol and me, I would’ve confronted them immediately. _

Okay, no, she wouldn’t have because she liked to pretend everything was fine, but Jinsol and Sooyoung would’ve confronted her. Perhaps being frustrated by Hyejoo and Chaewon’s inaction was a little hypocritical on her end.

“Okay, um, do you want to talk first?”

“I… um…” Hyejoo bit her lip. “Don’t you want to talk first?” Her eyes widened when Chaewon opened her mouth to protest. “I just need a better understanding of why you’re upset. Without you yelling at me.” She folded her hands together on the table. “I hate it when you yell at me.”

Chaewon’s breath hitched. A look of pain flashed across her features. “I’m sorry… I really don’t mean to yell. I just get  _ so  _ frustrated,” she mumbled. “Not just with you but with myself too.” She looked at Hyejoo then at her two friends. She seemed too nervous to explain what was wrong with her. Jungeun knew she never liked to be vulnerable. But if it meant getting Hyejoo back, Jungeun was sure Chaewon would make exceptions for the younger girl.

“Hyejoo, when you told me about what happened with your dad after he was put in Azkaban, I couldn’t help but feel so guilty. Losing your father like that… I wouldn’t know what to do if I were in your shoes,” she mumbled. “If I found out my dad was a werewolf and did all those horrible things to those people and then got shunned from the family, I would’ve defended him.”

Hyejoo raised a brow and let out a dry laugh. “Seriously? I’m beginning to question your morals here, Chae-”

“No, I mean- Obviously, I wouldn’t defend a murderer!” Chaewon protested. “I just- I wouldn’t want to lose my dad.” She took a deep breath. “And just by judging by how fast your family is to disown people, your own father. What would happen if they found out their daughter was dating a half-Muggle, quarter-witch, and quarter-Veela? I’m like a whole stew pot. Not very pure.” She laughed at her own joke. “The last thing I want is for you to lose your family because of me after you’ve already lost so much, Hyejoo…”

“But Chaewon,” Hyejoo said softly. “I don’t care about what my family thinks of me! And contrary to your belief, I’m not super devastated that my dad’s in Azkaban! He deserves it.” The younger girl brushed a bit of her hair behind her ear. “They’re right to disown my father. They’d be wrong to not accept you as the love of my life.”

“I-I’m the love of your life?” Chaewon stuttered in disbelief.

Hyejoo nodded slowly. “You are, Chae. You’re my soulmate.”

Chaewon gasped, hand moving up to cover her mouth. The blonde’s tears started coming back. “But- But-”

“You know, the more I hear you talk about blood status and worrying about being accepted by my family when I have continuously told you I would risk losing my family for you… I’m starting to think you’re using this as an excuse to not be with me,” Hyejoo said quietly.

Chaewon’s breath hitched.

“If you don’t want me, then just say it.”

Jungeun felt like Hyejoo was being a little harsh with that, but she kept quiet. She knew better than to possibly ruin their communication.

“I do want you. I’m just so, so scared,” the blonde breathed out. “Scared of losing you. Scared of not being enough. Scared of not making you happy. I just keep looking at all the things that could go wrong.” Her lip quivered as a silent tear fell down her cheek. “I want things to be easy. It’s hard when I see so many things that could make our relationship not easy.”

“Then maybe… maybe you should stop thinking about the complications and start thinking about the positives?” Hyejoo suggested, tone laced with uncertainty. She seemed scared that she was going to cause Chaewon distress.

Chaewon’s eyes widened slightly.

“You love me, and I love you. That should be enough, right?” Hyejoo asked slowly. She tentatively reached her hand across the table and took Chaewon’s into her own. “All I’m asking for you to trust me and believe me when I say I don’t care about who you are or what my family thinks of you. I only want you, Chaewon.”

A sad smile broke out on her lips. “You’re my first and only priority.”

“Always?”

“Always.”

Jungeun would think this was an adorable yet bittersweet moment, had it not been for Jiwoo looking on the verge of squealing again. She glared at her best friend silently telling her to remain silent  _ or else.  _ Jiwoo had a tendency to interrupt sweet moments. 

A specific incident in her fourth year involving Jinsol and Jungeun on their way back from Hogsmeade left Jungeun scarred. She had never screamed so loud when Jiwoo jumped on her back while Jungeun was trying to kiss Jinsol’s cheek. The worst thing about it was both Jinsol and Jiwoo brought it up and joked about it years later. Her revenge would one day come; she swore on it.

“I’m so sick of being away from you, Hyejoo,” the blonde mumbled. “I think this week more than anything taught me how much life sucks without you. I can’t stop the pull between us.” She slowly intertwined their fingers. “I’m still worried. I think I always will be worried because I want to be perfect for you, but you’re right, I need to trust you.”

Hyejoo bit her lip, and her smile grew to a much more pleased one. “So, does that mean you don’t want to break up with me anymore?”

“Of course, you crazy idiot,” Chaewon laughed, “I never wanted to.”

“I’m your crazy idiot though,” Hyejoo smirked. “Fuck blood status.”

“Yeah, fuck blood status.” Chaewon giggled cutely and leaned in over the table to kiss her. Jungeun quickly averted her gaze. No offense to Chaewon, but she really didn’t want to see that.

Hyejoo cleared her throat awkwardly. “Um… Chae… Jiwoo and Jungeun are still here.”

The blonde squeaked and jumped back into her seat. She glared fiercely at Jungeun and Jiwoo. “You both have five seconds to leave before I grossly kiss Hyejoo in front of you.

“Leave!? Why do we have to leave!?” Jiwoo protested. “We brought you here in the first place!”

“Yeah, well, you shouldn’t have eavesdropped on us a few days ago!” Chaewon shot back, crossing her arms over her chest. Jungeun opened her mouth to question her, but Chaewon shot her down with a piercing look. “You really thought that I couldn’t hear Jiwoo’s loud breathing behind the gargoyle?”

“I breathe loud…?”

Chaewon nodded. “Yeah, you do.” She gave Hyejoo a look, and the two girls stood up. Smiling gently at Jungeun and Jiwoo, she scratched behind her head. “Um, I guess I have to thank both of you. So, thank you for being nosy and, um, staging an intervention.” She looked down at her feet as if she was nervous about what she was about to say next. “You guys really are the best friends I could ever have.”

“We love you, Chaewon, seriously,” Jungeun replied. “Don’t ever hesitate to ask us for help with whatever you need.”

“Yeah! Or we won’t hesitate to track you down again,” Jiwoo threatened teasingly.

Chaewon rolled her eyes and took Hyejoo’s hand. The two girls walked out of the Great Hall literally attached at the hip. Suddenly, Jungeun felt just like the clouds had parted and the sun had peeped through after Hyejoo and Chaewon finally sorted things out. Things suddenly felt right in the world.

She couldn’t help but smile proudly as the doors closed behind the two girls.

“So…” Jungeun said softly, looking over at her best friend. “What now?”

Jiwoo shrugged. “We’ve got a lot of time to kill before dinner.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I really don’t feel like studying.”

“Yeah, me either.”

The two girls stared at each other in silence. The awkward moment caused Jungeun to burst out laughing, and Jiwoo followed suit. It was so easy to laugh at nothing when she was with her best friend.

“Wanna go bother the giant squid?” Jiwoo asked.

“Hell yeah, let’s do it.”

* * *

“Awww,” Jinsol cooed. “Look at them! They’re sharing a scarf!”

Jungeun glanced up the hill ahead of her. Sure enough, Chaewon and Hyejoo had their arms around each other as they trudged their way to the tunnel through the mountain that led to the Quidditch pitch. She couldn’t help but smile proudly at her friends. She was right about things slowly becoming right in the world again after Chaewon and Hyejoo made up. Chaewon didn’t even explode a cauldron during Potions on Friday, and the Slytherins started letting Hyejoo into the common room again. 

Around her, groups of students were also making their way into the tunnel, decked out in red or yellow for the highly anticipated Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff Quidditch match. However, Jungeun had no doubt in her mind that their team would win today’s match. She just had to make sure they won by a large margin.

“Okay, team,” Jungeun said firmly, turning around to look at her team members behind her. “Remember the plan. Know that Serim is going to do whatever the hell it takes to get the snitch. We gotta be above that. Momo and Jeno are also to watch out for. They’re like you two, Yeojin and Lisa, they prefer to beat to their own drum when it comes to hitting players with Bludgers. Jungwoo is a pretty bad Keeper, no offense to him, so I’m not too worried. As for the Chasers, Chaeryeong, Sana, and Chaeyoung-”

Lisa chuckled quietly. “Don’t you worry about Chaeyoung. We’re cool.” She licked her lips, and somehow Jungeun understood her innuendo.

“Man, are you fucking Jennie Kim and Park Chaeyoung at the same time? It’s getting weird,” Yeojin scoffed.

“It’s none of your business, kid.”

Yeri snorted. “Didn’t I see you flirting with Kim Jisoo too? Dude, you’re like collecting the Infinity Stones or something.”

Lisa recoiled slightly and then clicked her tongue in disapproval. “I did not expect to be slut-shamed by my own teammates. I’m just exploring my options. They all know that.”

Jungeun cleared her throat, annoyed by the interruption from dumb, dumber, and dumbest. “So if the Hufflepuffs  _ try  _ anything, do not stoop to their level.” She gently patted Sooyoung’s shoulder next to her. “So, what are you doing, Sooyoung?”

“Not catching the snitch,” Sooyoung mumbled.

“What was that?”

“Not catching the snitch,” Sooyoung grumbled a little louder.

Jungeun smirked while Jinsol giggled next to her quietly, causing the Durmstrang girl to glare at the blonde. “One more time?”

Sooyoung groaned. “Baby, seriously?” 

Jungeun gave her a pointed look.

“Not catching the snitch!”

She smirked triumphantly. “There we go.”

Jinsol snickered a little louder, gently nudging Jungeun’s side. She wasn’t the only one who found the exchange amusing because Yeojin and Heejin kept making kissing noises behind them. Jungeun nudged her back and gave her a look that warned her not to make Sooyoung more annoyed. Not that Jinsol would care anyway. Sooyoung and Jinsol always found ways to get under each other’s skin even if it was much more playful now.

“I can’t believe you went for the snitch like that,” Jinsol remarked, throwing her arm around Jungeun’s shoulder. “You’re a professional Quidditch player. This might be child’s play to you, but you made yourself a fool.”

Sooyoung hummed in thought, also throwing her arm around Jungeun’s shoulder. Her hand rubbed against Jinsol’s forearm, causing the blonde to squeal and move her arm away. Sooyoung cackled but then recoiled when she noticed Jungeun’s bewildered expression. “I wanted to show off and get Jungeun’s attention, duh.” She pressed a kiss to Jungeun’s temple. “I obviously don’t need to do that anymore.”

“We don’t need to do that,” Jinsol corrected, moving her arm back over around Jungeun’s shoulder. Sooyoung once again rubbed her forearm. “Will you cut that out!?” she growled, snatching her arm away again.

“No,” Sooyoung said sweetly. “I think it’s funny.”

Jinsol’s nose scrunched up in disgust. “Stop touching me. It’s weird.”

“I’m wearing your favorite lip gloss by the way.”

“GAH! SHUT UP, HA SOOYOUNG!”

Jungeun sighed gently and wrapped her arms around both of their shoulders to try and ease their quarreling. “Chill out, you guys,” she said. She pressed her lips to Jinsol and then Sooyoung’s cheeks and squeezed their shoulders gently. “Save your playful aggression for the game. I know Haseul’s going to need to be subdued once we cream Hufflepuff.”

“Hey, Jinsol, technically you just kissed my cheek because Jungeun kissed yours then mine.”

“Why? Why? Why are you like this, Sooyoung?”

Behind them, their teammates were far from impressed by the disgusting displays of affection.

“I miss the days where Jungeun was useless around Jinsol and didn’t know how to talk to girls,” Yeojin said tiredly. “Although, I don’t know if single Jungeun or taken Jungeun is more annoying.”

“Remember when Jinsol left for Beauxbatons and Jungeun curved her for a cheek kiss when Jinsol definitely wanted to kiss her?” Heejin asked jokingly.

“Remember when she almost fell off her broom flying around the training grounds trying to do a flip for Jinsol?” Lisa teased. “She called it the Yves flip, like the one Yves did during the World Cup.”

“Remember when Jungeun’s side of the dormitory was filled with Yves posters, and she used to kiss them every night?” Jiwon snickered.

“Remember when Jungeun found out that both Yves and Jinsol were coming to Hogwarts, and she used to ask anyone who would talk to her what day it was?” Yeri finished off.

Jungeun’s face suddenly felt so hot. She turned around and glared at her teammates. “Cut it out. You know I can hear you.”

Sooyoung grinned. “But they’re right, aren’t they?”

“Sweetie pie, Jungeun,” Jinsol cooed.

She groaned loudly and rolled her eyes at Sooyoung and Jinsol’s teasing. Then, she had a brilliant idea to include her own teasing. Give them a taste of their own medicine. “Oh, yeah, if you’re just gonna keep agreeing on things, why don’t you two just date already?”

“I-”

“What-”

“Kidding!” Jungeun giggled. No, she wasn’t, but she hoped she didn’t take things too far.

Sooyoung and Jinsol halted in their tracks and looked at each other, letting Jungeun walk ahead of them. Jungeun stopped when she realized that both girls were no longer by her side. She turned back to look at them, trying not to laugh at how funny they looked looking at each other.

“What? Did I strike a nerve?” Jungeun asked seriously.

Jinsol quickly snapped her attention away from Sooyoung. “No, you didn’t. Everything’s fine,” she muttered.

Sooyoung was still staring at Jinsol.

Jungeun took the blonde’s hand into her own and raised a brow at her other girlfriend. “Soo? You coming, baby?”

Finally, Sooyoung stopped looking at Jinsol. She flashed Jungeun a weak smile and grabbed Jungeun’s hand. “Yeah, babe.”

The three of them walked to the Quidditch pitch together in peaceful silence, but Jungeun couldn’t help but notice Sooyoung kept sneaking glances at Jinsol. Jungeun bit her lip to stop herself from smiling.

She was right about them. Something had shifted and changed for the better, and she had a strong feeling Sooyoung was the one feeling it the most.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi lovely readers! i'm here with some exciting news! i was doing a lot of thinking lately, and i realized i definitely do not want to abandon this hp universe after i finish this fic (don't worry it's not ending any time soon!) so i have a few spin-off one-shots planned/have ideas for, but i'm always open to suggestions for ships from you guys! 
> 
> what i do have planned is joyri (which is mostly self-indulgent bc i'm joyri trash) but i wanted to write an outsider's perspective to watching lipvesoul develop bc obviously they're a BIG deal at Hogwarts rn and a lot of eyes are on them. who better than those dumb chaotic babies? the second one is yvesoul which would make a lot more sense once the fic ends bc it'll take place after the events of the triwizard tournament, so i will reveal details later to not spoil anything. i also want to write 2jin as pen pals throughout their time growing up and then finally meeting each other!
> 
> anyway, thank you all for reading again! <3
> 
> twitter:  
> @hyeiipves  
> curious cat:  
> curiouscat.me/hyeslipse


	12. ELEVEN: AMOUREUSE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everybody! i apologize for the long unplanned four month hiatus. this semester was really hard on me, and i didn’t have the time or motivation to write. here is the long-awaited chapter 11. also, i noticed that this fic has 10k+ hits and 500+ kudos! thank you so much for the support. :’) you guys are really what keep me going.

“As we enter the middle of the spring semester, I have exciting news, class,” Professor Kang said brightly as she burst into the Potions classroom with a crate full of potions of different shapes and sizes in her arms. She set them down gently on the middle table and grinned cheerfully. “We’re going to be covering some new potions today!”

“Professor, last time you said this, we reviewed the Cure for Boils again,” Chaewon grumbled agitatedly across from Jungeun.

Professor Kang chuckled amusedly. “Oh, I’m very good at lying, aren’t I? This time I promise I’m telling the truth.” She began unloading her potions and shook her head. “Although, with your track record, you make every potion like you haven’t even seen a cauldron before.”

The class roared with laughter, causing Chaewon’s cheeks to turn bright red. Her shoulders sunk in embarrassment. “Ha. Ha,” she said dryly.

Jungeun always dreaded Fridays because of Double Potions. Don’t get her wrong, she loved Professor Kang, and she loved having a class with Jiwoo, Chaewon, Heejin, and Hyunjin. But sometimes, _sometimes_ two hours of the same class on a Friday afternoon was draining, and all Jungeun could think about was what she wanted to buy during her trip to Hogsmeade tomorrow. A Honeydukes treats restock was number one on that list.

Professor Kang pulled two potions out of the crate and placed them on the stand. One was small, molten gold in color. The other vial was colorless, dull, in Jungeun’s opinion. There was barely a mouthful in the vial. Professor Kang cleared her throat and scratched her nose as she pulled the last item out of the crate, a small cauldron that had a very pleasant aroma… almost as if someone had combined all of Jungeun’s favorite scents. Yet the cauldron was too far away for Jungeun to get a good sniff in.

Curiously, the mixed NEWT level class of students glued their attention to the table.

“Professor, what are you trying to show us?” Sihyeon asked from her table of Slytherins.

“That gold one is tinier than I am!” Yena, one of the only Hufflepuffs in the class, remarked.

“I’m getting a huge waft of graham crackers over here,” Lia chuckled from the Ravenclaw table.

Professor Kang held her finger up to her lips and shushed them. “One second, class, the overwhelming smell of Danish pastries is getting to me.”

Jungeun furrowed her brows and glanced over at her friends, but all of them seemed just as enamored as the rest of the class.

“This is my favorite unit to teach in NEWT level Potions,” Professor Kang explained, “because I get to show you the coolest potions in the entire wizarding world, and I don’t have to worry about Park Chaewon exploding my classroom!”

“Hey!” Chaewon huffed.

Professor Kang smirked at Chaewon. “Anyway, I have three potions in front of me. All of them a serve great purpose but could be extremely harmful when used improperly.” She picked up the vial of the colorless potion and held it up in the air. “We’ve got some smart cookies in this class. Can anyone tell me what this potion is?”

The entire Ravenclaw table’s hands shot up in seconds. Chaewon rolled her eyes at her housemates and muttered, “Nerds.”

“Miss Han?”

Han Eunji’s eyes widened, but with encouragement from Yoorim, she stood up nervously. “Um… that’s Veritaserum, right?”

“Right on! And what does it do?”

Eunji smiled shyly and started playing with her blonde hair while shifting back and forth. “It’s a truth serum. It forces the drinker to answer any questions t-truthfully,” she explained, voice nearly cracking at the end. “It’s strictly controlled by the Ministry, right? Because like you said, it’s dangerous when used improperly.”

Professor Kang clapped her hands together. “That’s correct. Five points to Ravenclaw!” She began walking around the room, heels clicking on the stone floor while she showed off the tiny vial to the students at the tables. “Three drops will have you spilling all of your darkest secrets. It’s definitely something you do not want to be slipped into your pumpkin juice.” She stopped in front of Chaewon and smiled at her in a very innocent yet threatening manner. “Full disclosure, I expect you to be able to brew this potion perfectly to be able to pass your NEWTs.”

While the sweet but menacing head of Hufflepuff house sauntered away, Chaewon groaned and looked at Jungeun with utmost despair. “She’s out for my blood. I know it.”

“Maybe if you didn’t suck at this class,” Heejin muttered.

“Or skipped it at least once biweekly,” Jiwoo added.

Chaewon scoffed and went back to paying attention.

“This gold vial here…” Professor Kang held it up for everybody to see. “What does this do?”

This time it was the Slytherins that were eager to answer this question, but Hyunjin also had her hand up.

“Kim Hyunjin?”

Hyunjin stood up and nodded curtly. “Felix Felicis. It makes you feel lucky for a certain amount of time. Side effects include giddiness, recklessness, and dangerous overconfidence.” A straight textbook answer. Classic Hyunjin.

Professor Kang nodded. “Yes! Exactly! Five points to… Oh, right.”

“Just give the points to Gryffindor,” Hyunjin said.

The smile on Heejin’s face was so bright that it made Hyunjin crack a little bit of a smile too, and that was a rare sight indeed.

“GRYFFINDOR? HEY, WAIT! THAT’S NOT FAIR-” Yiren blurted out as she practically jumped out of her seat.

“-Five points to Gryffindor then!”

The furious Hufflepuff prefect hissed and plopped back down in defeat.

“Thank you, Hyunjin,” Heejin said gently, placing a hand on Hyunjin’s shoulder as the Durmstrang girl sat down.

Hyunjin bowed her head bashfully. “You’re welcome, Heejin. It was my pleasure.”

The two exchanged giddy looks before turning back to Professor Kang. Jungeun and Jiwoo made eye contact. Her best friend started making kissy faces, causing Jungeun to scowl in disapproval. She gave her a look that told Jiwoo to knock it off, and Jiwoo pouted defiantly.

Lia shot her hand up in the air.

“If you’re thinking about using Felix Felicis to win the Quidditch Cup or pass your NEWTs next year, don’t even bother.” Professor Kang laughed lightly and examined the gold vial in her hand. “It’s illegal.” She glanced over at the Ravenclaw, who had now lowered her hand and cleared her throat awkwardly. “Yes, Miss Choi?”

“Oh, I was about to ask a question, but you answered it for me,” Lia blurted out, flashing a shy smile to the professor. “I was wondering why the champions haven’t used Felix Felicis in the tournament. It’s banned, right?”

Professor Kang nodded. “Very astute, Lia.”

Jungeun noticed Chaewon scowling out of the corner of her eye. A quiet snort escaped her and unfortunately caught the attention of Professor Kang. Her eyes widened, and she immediately ducked her head down.

“Moving on to our next potion… which like Felix Felicis is _very_ toxic if you take it in large quantities. I call it a _sickness._ ” Her ears wiggled rather cutely as she let out an infectious laugh. She let out a disappointed sigh and put the vial back in the stand. “Oh, I suppose you don’t know why I’m making this joke. My apologies. I just think I’m very funny.”

“Can’t believe you think she’s scary,” Jungeun whisper-yelled at Chaewon. She could feel sharp eyes burn into the back of her skull. Something told her she was walking a very dangerous line with the head of Hufflepuff house.

“As for the last potion, hm…” Professor Kang tilted her head to the side in thought. “I think I’ll need a volunteer.” Her eyes scanned around the room for a willing (or unwillingly) victim. “Jungeun! You haven’t spoken much in class today. Come up here.”

Jungeun’s eyes widened. _You could’ve picked anybody in the goddamn room. Why me?_ she thought. Jiwoo snickered quietly next to her. Merlin, she ought to hex her. Was her misfortune funny to her? Hesitantly, she got out of her seat and walked over to the middle table. She stuck her hands into the pockets of her robes and smiled nervously.

“Smell this,” Professor Kang instructed, gesturing to the steaming potion in the cauldron in front of them. Now, the overwhelming aroma was lulling her into a comforting trance. It was much stronger now that she was directly taking in the fumes. She could definitely pick up and differentiate the mixture of scents that seemed to soothe her as she took them in.

Vanilla, dragon hide, smoke, some sort of cocoa scented lotion that she definitely smelled before in the locker rooms, the sea, and a polished broom handle. All sorts of scents that she couldn’t understand how they were awfully familiar to her and made no sense how they were _all_ related to… Well. Let’s just say they were really pleasing.

“Well?” Professor Kang asked impatiently. “What’s the potion?”

“Huh?” Jungeun asked, pulled away from her trance.

“The potion. The aroma was supposed to give you a clue.”

Jungeun stared at her blankly.

Professor Kang sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. “It’s full of things that you…”

The gears in her brain finally started turning. “LOVE!” Jungeun blurted out. “It’s a love potion!” Now, the things she smelled sort of made sense. And how strange… the connections she could make with the aroma and the people that she cared about. Must be a coincidence.

“Merlin’s pants, she’s so stupid,” Heejin said, not even bothering to try and keep her voice down.

Chaewon rolled her eyes. “That’s the pot calling the kettle black.”

This was not the time to ponder why Jungeun thought dragon-hide gloves were romantic.

“Yes, Amortentia,” Professor Kang explained, “the most powerful love potion to ever exist. Although, don’t get your hopes up, Miss Kim. It’s impossible to create real love. The user will only gain an infatuation or obsession with the administrator. Do not use this to get your celebrity crush to fall in love with you, class.”

Jungeun grimaced and looked back at the simmering cauldron. How tempted she was to stick her finger in and let the steamy mixture ripple under her touch. She had never been fascinated by a potion before. Never had the urge to just reach in and take a sip. The multi-faceted scent gave her a warmth that she had never felt before. Except for when she sees Jinsol’s big, toothy grin while she talks about what new creature she learned about today, or when Sooyoung cracks a particularly stupid joke that no one found funny but her. No, this was different. This was like feeling both of those experiences at once.

And the only explanation Jungeun could come up with was, _Damn. This potion really does make you obsessive._

Professor Kang cleared her throat loudly in her ear, causing Jungeun to jump in shock. A shriek left her, and she dug her nails into her brown tresses. She really should dye it again.

“Miss Kim, please go back to your seat,” Professor Kang said.

Jungeun’s eyes widened, cheeks burning a bright crimson. How long had she been standing there? She awkwardly shuffled back towards her seat, only now realizing the entire class had been staring at her too.

“It’s alright, Jungeun,” she said sweetly, flashing her usual kind-hearted grin. “Amortentia has a tendency to _pull you in._ ”

Heejin, Chaewon, and Jiwoo snickered loudly as Jungeun plopped back down into her seat. And to her horror, Hyunjin had even let out a single chuckle. Good to know she was the laughing stock of her friend group.

“Aw, Jungie,” Jiwoo teased, “did you fall in loooove?”

“Shut up, Jiwoo!” Jungeun hissed.

Professor Kang clapped her hands together, halting the classroom’s quiet chatter hopefully _not_ about Kim Jungeun making a fool out of herself. “Alright! Now for the rest of class, we will be reviewing the Cure for Boils!”

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?” Chaewon screeched.

* * *

Dinner at Hogwarts was never really dinner unless Im Yeojin was causing a ruckus. And when it’s not Yeojin, it’s Yeri. And when it’s not Yeri, it’s Lisa. And when it’s not… well, long story short, the Gryffindor table was constantly rambunctious, and it was certainly _the_ table to sit at. Nobody wanted to study Ancient Runes with the Ravenclaws, or share baking recipes with the Hufflepuffs, or plan world domination with the Slytherins -- they wanted to see Im Yeojin try and balance twenty cauldron cakes on her head.

But tonight was a little different, neither of the three usual troublemakers had come to dinner yet. So the Great Hall was surprisingly (and weirdly) very quiet. Quiet enough for Haseul to steal Jinsol from Jungeun and play Wizard Chess.

“Queen to G6,” Haseul said, and that stupid red piece moved to that spot. She was one of the few non-Gryffindor students that decided to join them even with Yeojin’s absence. Haseul was a real one.

“I don’t understand this game,” Jiwoo complained, head resting on Haseul’s shoulder. “If anything it’s worse than Muggle Chess because all your pieces get destroyed if you lose!”

“That’s what the Mending Charm is for, Jiwoo,” Jinsol laughed gently. She turned to Jungeun, who was stressfully wolfing down a big piece of chicken. “Baby, slow down. You’re going to choke.”

Jungeun looked up from her plate, cheeks bulging out. “Wha-?” A piece of meat slipped out of her lips and landed on the table.

Jinsol’s nose scrunched up in disgust. “Charming.” She placed her hand on Jungeun’s shoulder and squeezed it gently. “I thought you were supposed to be the neat freak between the two of us.” Her close proximity filled Jungeun’s senses overwhelmingly with… vanilla.

“You smell good,” Jungeun mumbled. She looked away from her girlfriend briefly, sighing in disappointment when she saw no one new had entered the Great Hall. “Where’s Sooyoung?”

“I don’t know, babe,” Jinsol said. “She’s _your_ girlfriend.”

“Hey, don’t pull that. You guys are kind of friends.”

“I wouldn’t say that…” The blonde scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Regardless of our _truce,_ she still makes my life a living hell by constantly teasing me. Every time I fight back she mocks me even more! Have you ever noticed that? She will never let up! She’s so insufferable, Jungeun. I swear-”

Jungeun snorted quietly, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth.

Jinsol’s brows shot up. “What?”

“Nothing,” Jungeun said quickly, taking a big gulp of her pumpkin juice. “Let’s just drop it. We can agree to disagree.”

“But we’re not friends…” Jinsol trailed off, teeth raking over her lower lip. She had been called into her deep void of thinking, and all Jungeun could do was smirk while she took another sip of her pumpkin juice.

Just then, the Great Hall’s doors burst open, and Yeojin came running in holding a small black box over her head with a black cord loosely attached to a tiny blue square. “I got it! I got it!”

“Yeojin! Get back here!” Yeri screeched, skidding to a halt in front of the Great Hall before bolting in after the small Gryffindor.

Lisa wheezed loudly and slipped in just in time before the doors closed on her. “You guys are crazy. All this over a… over a…” She slapped her hands down on her knees and roared with laughter.

Haseul scowled as Yeojin barreled towards the Gryffindor table. “What is wrong with you?” she scolded as the fifth year plopped down on the other side of Jungeun. “I was playing a nice game of chess with Jinsol, and now you have to cause a ruckus. No wonder most of your days are spent in Saturday detention. They ought to ban you from Hogsmeade for your childish behavior.

“Ah,” Yeojin giggled, “but it’s all part of my charm!”

 _“Yeojin,”_ Yeri hissed, coming up behind Yeojin furiously. “Give that back, you thief.”

“Finders, keepers!”

“That’s bull! You literally stole it from me!”

“What exactly is that?” Jinsol asked, examining the strange contraptions curiously. The black box with holes in the side and the small blue square with a white circle were foreign objects to her. It didn’t take long for Jungeun to figure it out though. She was usually slow but not when it came to Muggle devices.

Jungeun gasped. “Yeojin, is that… an iPod Shuffle? Connected to a black speaker?”

Yeojin grinned brightly and bounced in her seat. “Yeah, it is! Can you believe it? I believe I found the solution to not being able to listen to our own music because everything uses a cellular signal or wifi these days, and magic always interferes with it.”

 _“You_ found it,” Yeri grumbled. “Yeah, right.”

“It’s so annoying!” Jiwoo huffed. “My third year I accidentally brought my iPad to school, and when I turned it on, I could barely use it!”

Haseul and Jinsol, the only two people in the conversation that clearly had no idea what was going on, exchanged strange looks and then looked down at the devices some more. Jungeun wondered if they were afraid of it transfiguring into a strange creature to attack them at any moment. Purebloods were so funny.

Yeojin’s loud excitement and Yeri’s anger had attracted a small crowd. Hyejoo and Chaewon walked over hand-in-hand from the Ravenclaw table, and Heejin and Hyunjin, who had just arrived for dinner, made their way to see what was going on. Soon there was a small mix of other Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws pushing through to see what Yeojin had found.

“So, this iPod has a bunch of tunes from the early ‘10s on here. Oh, and a bunch of Ariana Grande on here. Somebody managed to keep it very up to date in the Ariana Grande section,” Yeojin joked, gleaming when the other students laughed at her jokes.

“Yeah, because it’s _my_ iPod Shuffle-”

Yeojin snapped her head around, nearly hitting Jungeun in the face with her hair. “Yeri, do you really have to be such a vibe killer? I’m just sharing the wealth. People have the right to be able to listen to ‘Dynamite’ by Taio Cruz while struggling through a History of Magic essay!”

Yeri narrowed her eyes. “You have no right to take credit for-”

“ANYWAY, who wants to hear some tunes?”

The crowd cheered excitedly, and Yeri slumped her shoulders defeatedly. She pushed her way out of the crowd and crossed over to the Slytherin table where her friend Doyeon and her girlfriend were waiting for her. They glared in the direction of Yeojin and Jungeun and turned their attention to comforting Yeri.

Yeojin grinned at Haseul. “Okay, Head Girl, you wanna do the honors?”

The Hufflepuff’s eyes bulged out like a fish. “Um, what do I do…?”

“Press the button.”

“What button?”

“There! That one!” Yeojin pointed to the inside of the white circle and ran her finger around the brim.

Haseul squinted and leaned in as if she was searching for something in dark. “Yeojin, I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“OH MY GOD JUST PRESS THE CENTER!”

The older girl flinched and pressed the center of the iPod Shuffle.

The very loud opening to that stupid “Like a G6” song started blasting out of the small speaker. Jungeun didn’t even like this song, but there was something so wonderful about listening to Muggle music after what felt like forever.

_POPPIN BOTTLES IN THE ICE, LIKE A BLIZZARD_

_WHEN WE DRINK WE DO IT RIGHT, GETTIN SLIZZARD_

_SIPPIN SIZZURP IN MY RIDE, LIKE THREE 6_

_NOW I’M FEELING SO FLY LIKE A G6_

“LIKE A G6, LIKE A G6!” Yeojin and the other Muggle-born students in the crowd shouted. She picked the speaker up and danced on the table with it. Where were all the professors during this chaos?

Jinsol covered her ears and winced. She turned to Jungeun and shook her head. “No offense, Jungeun, but this music is…”

“Awful?”

“Yes.”

Jungeun laughed and shook her head. “Don’t worry. None taken. I don’t like this kind of music either.”

Jinsol pressed a gentle kiss to Jungeun’s cheek, giggling at the crimson flush appearing on the younger girl’s cheeks.

“Hey! Yerim! Come over here!” Yeojin yelled at the Hufflepuff table.

Yerim popped her head up and smiled brightly. “Is that you playing the music?” she shouted over the loud, noisy beat. When Yeojin nodded rapidly, head bouncing up and down like a bobblehead, Yerim giggled cutely. “Wow! That’s so cool! I’m impressed you managed to get that going. The many days I’ve been lying in bed wishing I could listen to Marina and the Diamonds. It’s a dream come true!”

Yeojin smirked triumphantly, puffing her chest out. “Yeah? Well, I’m sure I could figure that out for you.” She cleared her throat and quickly averted her gaze. Jungeun had to laugh. People were starting to notice that Yeojin was just talking to her best friend that she kind of sort of had feelings for. Honestly, Jungeun never bothered to care much about Yeojin and Yerim’s relationship. But it was very funny that Yeojin was trying to flirt with Yerim during a loud early 10s pop song with the line, _Ladies love my style, at my table gettin wild._

“Say, Yerim, are you going to Hogsmeade tomorrow?”

Yerim nodded brightly. “Yes, I am!”

“Cool,” Yeojin ran a hand through her hair. “Um… do you… wanna go with me?”

The way Yerim’s face fell and how she bit her lip apprehensively told all. “I’m sorry, Yeojin…” She nudged the girl next to her. “I’m going with Chaeryeong.”

Stunned, Yeojin dropped the speaker. The poor black box shattered, and the musid died. The blue iPod Shuffle skidded on the floor and landed right under Yeri’s feet. Yeri scoffed and reached down to stuff it in her robes’ pocket. “Karma’s a bitch, dipshit,” Yeri mouthed.

Yerim reached down and grabbed Chaeryeong’s hand and smiled sadly. “Sorry, Yeojin… Maybe next time?” Her eyes widened. “Oh. Right. This is the last Hogsmeade visit of the year unless they do another one in May…”

“Wow. Just wow.” Yeojin shook her head in disbelief. “Thought we meant something…” she muttered.

Yerim gave her a strange look. “Huh?”

“Nothing… just… just get lost, Yerim.”

Yerim’s face noticeably fell, and she turned to Chaeryeong. “Come on, let’s go back to the common room.”

The two girls stood up from the Hufflepuff table and walked with their fingers intertwined. Yeri and her Slytherin friends snickered at the scene unfolding across the hall. Yeojin’s eyes twitched. To her left, the girl she thought she was on the same page with. To her right, the girl she had wronged for her fifteen minutes of fame.

The crowd around the Gryffindor table began to disperse, leaving only a few Gryffindors, Hyejoo, and Chaewon.

“Oof, that’s an L, Yeojin,” Lena, a Gryffindor in Yeojin’s year, grinned.

“Shut up,” Yeojin growled.

“I really gotta hand it to you,” Hyejoo cackled, arm flinging around Chaewon’s shoulders. “You really managed to piss off both Yerims in about five minutes. Professor Young was right when she said you really are the menace of Gryffindor.”

 _“Shut up,”_ Yeojin snarled.

She hopped down from the table and yanked Hyejoo and Chaewon apart. “You two are going to help me fix things with Yerim.”

“Which one?” Chaewon asked.

“You _know_ which one!”

Hyejoo and Chaewon exchanged concerned looks. Even Jungeun was a little surprised by Yeojin’s frightening demeanor.

Yeojin let out an angry sigh. “Listen, I have an idea, and it has to do with what you learned in Double Potions this afternoon, Chaewon. Do you think you could be a distraction?”

Chaewon shook her head violently. “Oh, no, you don’t mean-”

“To the dungeons!” The small Gryffindor dragged the two girls out of the Great Hall while Hyejoo and Chaewon protested loudly behind her.

Once the harbingers of chaos had disappeared, Jungeun turned back to her friends and girlfriend. Haseul and Jinsol were still staring at the broken speaker in awe. Jiwoo had gone back to eating her apple pie. She sighed and looked down at her now unappetizing chicken. “I’m not really hungry anymore,” she admitted. “That was too much drama for me.”

“Hey, now,” Jinsol smiled brightly as she placed a hand on Jungeun’s thigh. “Tomorrow, I promise everything will be alright. We’ll have a great day together at Hogsmeade.”

Jungeun smiled bashfully and leaned in to kiss Jinsol gently, but she was interrupted by somebody clearing her throat loudly behind them.

“Oh! Hi, Sooyoung!” Jiwoo greeted.

Jungeun and Jinsol spun around in their seats. Sure enough, there was Sooyoung with an almost empty look in her eye. She was about to ask Sooyoung what was wrong, but Sooyoung started speaking. “Hi, Jiwoo. Haseul.” She smiled politely at the two girls. She then looked back at Jungeun and Jinsol. “Are you two busy tomorrow?”

“Well, Jungeun and I have plans-”

“Cancel them.”

_“Excuse me!?”_

Jungeun tensed up, immediately squeezing Jinsol’s shoulder as if to tell her, _don’t do it._

“Yeah, cancel them,” Sooyoung said flatly, bringing her finger up to scratch her nose.

Jinsol’s nostrils flared. “You cannot be serious, Ha Sooyoung. There better be a good reason for this, or I swear I will-”

“I’m taking you both on a date,” Sooyoung interrupted her again. She crossed her arms over her chest, gauging Jinsol and Jungeun’s reactions. A barely noticeable smirk formed on her lips. “Yeah. Both, I said. Meet me in the Clock Tower Courtyard at 9:30am, not a second later. I have big plans.”

Before either Jungeun and Jinsol could even respond, Sooyoung spun on her heels and sauntered out of the Great Halls, boots pressing firmly into the floor.

Jungeun and Jinsol slowly turned to look at each other.

Jinsol leaned in as if to try and block Haseul and Jiwoo out of the conversation. “Okay, is it just me, or was she acting _really_ weird? Like she was insufferable but in a-”

“Hot way? Yeah,” Jungeun sighed dreamily. “I was so ready to ask her to make out with me.”

“Jungeun!” Jinsol hissed.

“What!? It’s true!”

Jinsol rolled her eyes and lifted her head slightly to look at Sooyoung as she left. “I mean that she’s acting strange, and I don’t like it. Tomorrow’s going to be interesting.”

“Strange because she asked _you_ on a date too?” Jungeun pried.

Jinsol nodded. “Well, yeah… I guess, but she was also so stiff. She didn’t even smile. I don’t like it. I actually prefer it when she’s smiling while being an asshole.” She sighed and mumbled something under her breath before turning back to Haseul. “It’s my turn, right?”

Haseul nodded. “Yes! I almost forgot we were playing.”

Jungeun turned to look back at the Entrance Hall with a sort of longing and then rested her head on Jinsol’s shoulder, wondering how the hell a bunch of teenage witches could be so complicated to understand.

* * *

They arrived at the courtyard at 9:30am. Not a second sooner. Not a second later. Sooyoung was waiting for them in a crimson fur cloak. Jungeun couldn’t help but notice that she did not seem very pleased to see Jungeun like she usually was. No bright smile or teasing wink. No kiss on the cheek or gentle hug. Instead, her eyes were glued to Jinsol.

“Is that all you’re wearing?” Sooyoung asked Jinsol incredulously.

Jinsol looked down at her black down coat and unconsciously tightened her old Ravenclaw scarf around her neck. “Yeah… why?”

Sooyoung’s jaw tightened. She barely glanced over at Jungeun and then returned her gaze to the Beauxbatons champion. “You’re gonna catch a cold.” She turned around and motioned for Jungeun and Jinsol to follow her across the Covered Bridge.

Jungeun tentatively clung to Jinsol’s arm as the pair walked a few paces behind Sooyoung. Not to make everything about herself, but Jungeun admittedly felt a little off-put by Sooyoung not immediately showering her with attention and affection. She didn’t want to say she was clingy or whiny, but she was used to a more… present Sooyoung. A Sooyoung that was a bright sun, immediately drawing everyone’s attention with a toothy grin or a sultry wink. This Sooyoung was a faint globular cluster. If that was even the right word for it… Jungeun really never did pay attention during Astronomy.

As if detecting Jungeun’s dissatisfaction, Sooyoung turned around and smiled faintly at Jungeun. “By the way, darling, you look beautiful. You always do, but I just felt like you needed to hear that.”

Jungeun’s heart lurched as her face flushed. “I- Thank you, baby.”

Sooyoung’s smile grew a bit more. But once she laid eyes on Jinsol, her face fell again, and she spun back around.

As they traveled down the long, winding road to Hogsmeade, the distance between Sooyoung and Jungeun and Jinsol grew significantly. To a passerby, it looked like Jinsol and Jungeun were on a date together, and Sooyoung was walking alone to Hogsmeade.

The wind was quite awful today. Jungeun didn’t remember the January trip being this bad. Of course, she didn’t mind the wind too much, but Jinsol who spent her summers on southern French beaches was a different story.

“Sol, are you alright?” Jungeun asked her girlfriend, trying her best not to laugh at Jinsol’s teeth chattering.

“Mmph.” Jinsol shook her head, pushing her scarf further up her nose. “I hate cold weather. I can’t wait to get inside.”

Jungeun sighed gently. “For goodness sake, I should’ve got you warmer clothing for Christmas. I was too distracted by the Yule Ball to have any common sense.” She took her own Gryffindor scarf off her and wrapped it around her girlfriend. She was willing to let her neck freeze for Jinsol’s sake.

Jinsol smiled gratefully. “Thank you, baby… Tell me if you get cold too, alright?”

“Don’t worry about me,” Jungeun dismissed her. “You just, uh, rock those Gryffinclaw colors for me, alright?”

 _“Gryffinclaw,”_ Jinsol snickered and shook her head in disbelief. “You’re so cute.”

“What’s the hold-up?” Sooyoung called back to them. Jungeun couldn’t see her due to the low visibility of this intense windstorm. The older girl grunted and huffed as her feet crunched through the snow over to where Jinsol and Jungeun were. _Crunch. Crunch._ Jungeun didn’t know why the simultaneous sound of Sooyoung planting her feet into the ground as she stopped in front of them was so funny.

Sooyoung glanced between Jungeun and Jinsol, nose scrunching up at how Jinsol was clinging onto Jungeun for warmth. “Told you that you were going to catch a cold.” Her tone wasn’t mocking or teasing; she was merely just stating a fact. And by now Jungeun was getting a little concerned by her behavior.

Jinsol rolled her eyes. “Sorry not all of us can be from Bulgaria, Sooyoung.”

Sooyoung shrugged. “Don’t apologize.” She took her fur coat off and wrapped it around Jinsol’s shoulders.

Jungeun’s eyes bulged out in disbelief. How could she be this okay with taking her coat off in a windstorm? Then, she saw another coat underneath, and it started to make sense.

“Thank you,” Jinsol mumbled.

Sooyoung briefly glanced at Jungeun, expression softening a bit before looking back at Jinsol. “You’re welcome.”

The Beauxbatons girl furrowed her brows at the Durmstrang girl. Both looked at each other in the eyes for a few solid seconds. Jungeun could see Jinsol subtly raking her teeth over her lower lip.

Sooyoung’s eyes followed Jinsol’s teeth, and all it took was Jungeun accidentally shifting her weight and digging her heels into the snow to cause Sooyoung to snap out of it. “Come on. We’re going to miss our reservation.”

 _Reservation? What in the…?_ Jungeun thought as she watched Sooyoung’s advancing figure disappear into the morning windstorm.

She stuffed her hands in her coat pockets. “You’re right,” she said almost disbelievingly. “Sooyoung is acting strange.”

“You just now noticed this?” Jinsol scoffed. “She’s _your_ girlfriend.”

“I just don’t understand…” Jungeun shook her head as she beckoned for Jinsol to walk alongside her. The two girls grabbed each other’s hands as they trudged along following Sooyoung’s footprints. “I have never seen Sooyoung like this. Like she’s usually so much livelier. She would relish at the chance to make fun of you, as much as I hate to admit it!” She looked over at Jinsol and snickered. “But to be honest, you look kind of funny with your big ass fur cloak and your two scarves. This was a perfect opportunity to make fun of you.”

Jinsol shoved her gently. “Babe!” Although, it wasn’t that gentle of a shove because Jungeun nearly fell over and had to grasp onto the stone fence hugging the path from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade. “Oh, my bad. _Désolée._ ”

“Did you just say ‘my bad’ to almost shoving me into the snow?”

“I said sorry afterward!”

“I don’t speak French, Jinsol.”

“Four years ago in February, I attached a list of 100 useful French words. I guarantee how to say sorry is on there.”

Jungeun blinked slowly and shrugged. “It’s probably somewhere in my drawer where I keep your stack of letters.” She noticed Jinsol’s face brighten significantly. “What? You think I didn’t keep your letters?”

Jinsol shook her head. “No… I… You’re so sweet, Jungeun,” she remarked.

Her face turning red completely had to do with the cold, Jungeun thought.

“Yeah, well… back to Sooyoung.” Jungeun moved back in to walk closer to Jinsol. “You’re right. She’s been acting strange. And you know what? This is not a new phenomenon… Ever since the Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff match, that’s got to be when it started, right?” She furrowed her brows in thought. “She’s been quiet. During our nightly walks around the castle, she’s sort of had this absent look in her eye. Like she’s _there_ , but she’s not. Her mind is miles away.”

“I’ve noticed it too,” Jinsol agreed. “In classes, she’s been staring into space. Or more often than not, staring at _me._ I was a little weirded out about it. In fact, I don’t like this behavior at _all._ I would much rather she try and transfigure me into a roach again.”

“She tried to do that!?”

“Oh, yes, weeks after the first task. Honestly, we’ve been keeping you in the dark about most of the gritty details of our fights.”

Jungeun wasn’t sure she felt relieved or betrayed.

“But in all honesty…” Jinsol trailed off as they approached High Street. Sooyoung had stopped in front of Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop and was looking back at them. Jungeun couldn’t exactly see what kind of expression she had on her features, but something told her that it was just as blank as her expression had been lately.

Jinsol sighed, a fleeting, misty cloud leaving her lips. “In all honesty…” Her lips pursed, her gloved hand moving up to cup Jungeun’s cheek. The unmistakable scent of dragon-hide made Jungeun’s chest tighten.

“I’m worried about her,” she muttered, thumb gently brushing Jungeun’s cheek, but all Jungeun could think about was why Jinsol was wearing dragon-hide gloves on a _Hogsmeade_ visit of all occasions.

Jungeun tilted her head to the side.

“I’m worried about her because...” Jinsol exhaled shakily. “Whatever this is, this isn’t the Sooyoung I’ve grown to- well, the Sooyoung you caught feelings for… I want her back.”

She cleared her throat and dropped her hand. “So, you have to help me fix her, alright? Help me get to the bottom of this.” The blonde giggled nervously. Jungeun’s nose scrunched up in confusion. The heaviness from Jinsol’s confession had dropped completely. And if Jungeun was being honest, she wasn’t sure she recognized _this_ Jinsol either. “I mean, she _did_ ask us on a date, and so far she is not delivering on my end. I expected so much more from the great Quidditch legend Yves. Are all your dates with her like this?”

“No, but-”

“Exactly!” Jinsol grabbed Jungeun’s hand and dragged her up High Street to the lamppost by Madam Puddifot’s Tea Shop where Sooyoung was watching them and, no doubt, waiting for them impatiently. “I’ve got to see what the fuss is about.”

Jungeun rubbed her hand against the material of Jinsol’s gloves for some sort of comfort in what she felt was about to be a disaster.

* * *

There was a reason they called this place a haunt for young couples. There was also a reason Jungeun had only been in here once before. Whether it be the oversaturation of perfume in the air or the intense uncomfortableness Jungeun felt from too much PDA. To be fair, she and Jinsol or she and Sooyoung were pretty gross. But who would win in a PDA contest? Jungeun and her two girlfriends? Or an entire tea shop filled with young couples sickeningly in love?

There were Yoorim and Yiren, Yoojung and Doyeon, Momo and Sana, Hyejoo and Chaewon, Lisa and her girl of the day: Jennie, Yena and Yuri, and Ryujin and Lia, and way too many more to count. The shop was already so small and crammed with tables literally pushed up right next to each other.

The only other time Jungeun came here was with Jinsol during her fourth year, and she hated it, probably even more then because it was Valentine's Day. Thinking back on it now, Jungeun had no idea why Jinsol wanted to take her there originally. Only now did she realize Jinsol probably was taking her on a date considering she refused to let Jungeun pay for anything. It really made her wonder how long Jinsol was trying to show Jungeun she liked her, and Jungeun just… didn’t get it. How embarrassing.

“I don’t recognize anyone since we last came,” Jinsol remarked. “They must’ve all broken up.”

Jungeun roared with laughter hideously, ducking her head when she noticed some couples looking over at her. “Or graduated… duh.” She looked over at Sooyoung who was looking over at the menu with a very focused expression. Jungeun smiled shyly and put her hand on her thigh. “Soo, you doing alright?”

Sooyoung nodded firmly. “Trying to decide what I want to get. Coffee or tea?”

“Hm, whatever you want, babe.”

She let out a forced chuckle and rolled her eyes somewhat playfully. “I don’t know. That’s why I was asking you, babygirl.”

Her cheeks flushed at the pet name. Hey, at least Sooyoung hadn’t _totally_ lost her touch.

“If I may make a suggestion,” Jinsol cut in, raising a brow when Sooyoung immediately dropped her menu. “You should get the peppermint hot chocolate.”

The celebrity barely glanced back at the menu before putting it back down. “Alright, I’ll get that.”

“Seriously?” Jinsol asked incredulously, leaning forward slightly. “You’re not gonna question me?”

“No…? It sounds good.” Sooyoung pushed the menu to the side and tensed up when she could still feel Jinsol’s doubting gaze. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Why are you acting like that?”

“Acting like what?”

Jinsol shrugged. “That.” She looked at Sooyoung uncomfortably when she seemed to be staring at Jinsol until she elaborated. The blonde shuddered and looked away. “Never mind.”

The short, cheerful waitress that reminded Jungeun of her grandmother finally approached their table. “Sorry about that, ladies. We’ve got a full house, and we’re short-staffed. What will you all be having?”

Jungeun opened her mouth to order, but Sooyoung started ordering first. “Chocolate milk tea for her,” she said, pointing to Jungeun, “and then we’ll both have peppermint hot chocolate.”

“We will!?” Jinsol’s back straightened, shooting Sooyoung a bewildered look.

Sooyoung nodded, picking up all three of their menus. Jungeun got a soothing whiff of cocoa as Sooyoung reached across the table to hand the menus to the waitress. “Yeah? You suggested it, so unless you don’t want it…”

“No, no,” Jinsol interrupted quickly, “uh, thanks… I guess.”

“...You’re welcome.”

The bell over the bright pink door that blended well with the bright pink tea shop rang loudly. Ugh, did Jungeun mention this shop makes her suffocate with how _cute_ it is? Well, look at that. It was Yerim and Chaeryeong covered in snow making their way into the packed tea shop.

The waitress waved. “Ah, hello! I’m so sorry! We don’t have any available tables, but you’re free to wipe your boots off and warm yourself up for the time being.”

Yerim pouted. “Oh… That’s too bad. Come on, Chaer, we can go to the Three Broomsticks instead.” She turned to the girl next to her and squeezed her hand.

“Such a shame,” Sooyoung said half-sympathetically, “they should have made a reservation.”

Jungeun shook her head. They were at a table of five. There was plenty of room for Chaeryeong and Yerim to come and join them. She cupped her hands over her mouth. “Hey! Yerim! Come bring Chaeryeong over here! We have room!”

Yerim gasped gleefully. “Really? We’re saved!” She and Chaeryeong eagerly started making their way towards them, weaving through the tightly pushed together tables to make their way to Sooyoung, Jinsol, and Jungeun’s table at the back of the shop.

“Why’d you invite them?” Sooyoung asked annoyedly.

Jungeun gave Sooyoung a weird look. “Because Yerim’s our friend, and it’s a nice thing to do?”

“But this is _our_ date…”

Jinsol snorted.

“What?” Sooyoung asked sharply, whipping her head around to glare at Jinsol. She saw that Yerim and Chaeryeong were almost there, so she dropped the attitude. “Sorry that I just want to spend time with you… both of you.”

“Something just grabbed my foot!” Chaeryeong squealed, grabbing onto Yerim’s arm. She looked over at Hyejoo and Chaewon, who were sitting right by her. “Don’t kick me, Hyejoo,” she said as she kicked under the table, expecting to kick Hyejoo’s leg.

“Hey, it wasn’t me, Lee-”

But someone else besides Hyejoo let out a horrific scream as Chaeryeong’s leg hit something under the table. Jungeun had a strong suspicion that it wasn’t Chaewon either. Chaeryeong jumped in fear. “That table is haunted.”

Chaeryeong and Yerim slid into the seats at their table. Yerim grinned widely. “Hi, Jungeun! Hi, Jinsol! Hi, Sooyoung!” She nudged Chaeryeong gently. “Have you met my friends?”

“Of course, of course,” Chaeryeong nodded. She turned to Jungeun first. “Kim Lip, who could forget you? You are the best Keeper at Hogwarts. If I had to rank them, it’d be you, Doyeon, Eunji, and then Jungwoo. _Yes,_ I just trash-talked my own team member. No, I don’t care.”

She grinned and then turned to Sooyoung. Her expression seemed to falter. “I’ve met you briefly on the Quidditch pitch. You tried to shove me off my broom.”

Sooyoung shrugged unsympathetically. “When it comes to a game of Quidditch, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.”

“You just quoted _Game of Thrones_ ,” Chaeryeong laughed dryly. “Nerd.”

“What the fuck is that?”

Jinsol turned to Yerim and shook her head disappointedly. “Don’t you hate that whenever you hang out with Quidditch players the topic always turns to Quidditch?”

Yerim shrugged. “Well, what do you expect? Also, Quidditch is so much fun.”

“Right… I forgot you’re a Quidditch commentator,” Jinsol huffed.

“And Jung Jinsol… Beauxbatons Champion.” Chaeryeong smiled shyly. “You’re really pretty.”

Jinsol smiled gently, ignoring Sooyoung’s sharp inhale. “Thank you. You’re really pretty too!”

“So, Chaeryeong,” Jungeun said gently, playing with the napkin ring that she had taken off of her hot pink napkins. “Tell us about yourself.”

Chaeryeong flashed a small smile. “Well, I’m a Hufflepuff Chaser. My older sister Chaeyeon is a Ravenclaw Beater. She’s right over there on a date with a Beauxbatons girl. Sakura, I think?” She gestured to the girl who looked a lot like Chaeryeong and a girl with bright pink hair. Her gaze rested on Ryujin and Lia sitting near them, a pout gracing her lips briefly before turning back to the table.

“Oh, Sakura! She’s so lovely,” Jinsol remarked.

“My favorite subject is Charms. I would’ve been a prefect had it not been for Yerim here being a total ray of sunshine. I got detention once because Chaeyeon and I got into a huge fight in the Entrance Hall and nearly knocked over one of the gargoyles. Professor Kang was furious,” Chaeryeong continued to talk about herself. “Yerim and I’s beds are next to each other in the Hufflepuff dorm. We often make a joke like, ‘What if we put our Minecraft beds next to each other?’ because we’re both Muggle-borns who like Minecraft, and I-”

“Hey.”

The conversation died immediately. The five girls turned around to see Yeojin standing behind Yerim with a box full of chocolate cauldrons. Jungeun raised a brow. Yeojin popping in out of nowhere was not a surprise at all. Considering the girl’s knack for mischief (and her attachment to Yerim), Yeojin interrupting their date was the most predictable move.

Chaeryeong looked at Yeojin warily, while Yerim gave Yeojin a bright warm smile, seemingly forgetting Yeojin’s behavior from yesterday.

“Hi there, Yeojin!” Yerim greeted brightly.

“Um…” Yeojin cleared her throat awkwardly. “Here.” She shoved the box of chocolates in Yerim’s hands. Jungeun raised a brow when she suddenly noticed that there was a small rip in the side of the package. It looked like it had been opened before and probably by Yeojin, no doubt. Maybe she decided to get a quick snack of her own. “It’s an apology for yesterday… Enjoy it. I spent all my last galleons on it.”

Yerim smiled brightly. “Oh, thank you, Yeojin!”

“Thanks, Yeojin,” Chaeryeong echoed, reaching into the box of chocolates.

“NO!” Yeojin snapped, slapping Chaeryeong’s hand away. “That’s for Yerim only, you freak.”

Chaeryeong cowered slightly and looked down at her feet.

Yerim placed a hand on Chaeryeong’s back sympathetically and rubbed it. “Thank you again, Yeojin.” She took one of the cauldrons out and took a bite out of it, missing Yeojin’s small smirk as she watched the Hufflepuff eat it.

She brushed her hair to the side and grinned. “You’re welcome, Yerim… See ya.” She walked off stiffly and crossed her arms over her chest. Hyejoo and Chaewon snickered quietly when Yeojin passed them, eyes moving down below their table and then back at Yerim.

“How are the cauldrons, Yerim?” Chaeryeong asked.

Yerim smiled, cheeks puffing out. “Good!” she said with her mouth full.

Sooyoung sighed agitatedly and wrapped her arm around Jungeun’s shoulder. Jungeun stiffened in surprise. The first act of physical affection this entire date? Took her long enough. Sooyoung looked at Jinsol warily and then turned to Jungeun. “I know we haven’t gotten our drinks, but I kind of want to go somewhere else.”

Jinsol shook her head. “No way! You gotta follow through with your plans, Sooyoung. I don’t like people who change their minds quickly.”

Sooyoung’s eyes widened, arm falling from Jungeun’s side. “Sorry… I just…” She leaned in closely across the table, and once again, Jungeun got a whiff of the same comforting cocoa smell. Lotion. It had to be lotion. Did Sooyoung always smell that good? Sooyoung gently grabbed Jinsol’s hand that was resting on the table. “I just want time for just the three of us.”

Jinsol’s eyes widened, and she pulled her hand out of Sooyoung’s grasp at lightning speed. “Don’t touch me.”

Sooyoung flinched, a flash of pain washing over her features. She looked down at her lap and exhaled slowly, defeatedly. “Okay, I won’t.” Jungeun wasn’t sure what to make of this. Why wasn’t she fighting back? Why wasn’t she insisting on holding Jinsol’s hand? Instead, Sooyoung just reached down and grabbed Jungeun’s hand.

The normal warmness in her chest was dimmed by the confused look on Jinsol’s face. She was asking the same questions as Jungeun. But Jungeun wasn’t sure she was asking them out of jealousy or exasperation.

Jinsol scowled. “You know what?” She stood up abruptly. “I don’t wanna be here anymore either. Let’s go do something else.”

“But our drinks…?” Jungeun asked quietly.

“Screw our drinks!”

Jungeun sighed and looked at Sooyoung. Sooyoung had no hint of amusement on her features. There was just concern, or was it fear? Jungeun couldn’t quite figure it out.

“Okay, sure thing, Jinsol.”

 _Seriously!?_ she thought to herself. Jinsol was such a hypocrite. Jungeun groaned loudly, already mourning the loss of her chocolate milk tea. “Great… what a waste of our time. Thanks a lot, both of you,” she muttered sarcastically.

Jinsol and Sooyoung exchanged looks.

“Oh, _merde,_ Jungeun, I-”

“Jungeun, wait-”

Jungeun shook her head. This date was probably one of the sourest ones she’s ever had, and she refused to let it end this way. From Sooyoung’s strange behavior to Jinsol’s sudden agitation, if Jungeun didn’t do something quickly, it would all go to shit again. At least one thing hadn’t changed in Sooyoung and Jinsol’s dynamic, Jungeun was always going to be the one thing they both agreed on prioritizing.

“Listen, fine, if you want to leave, we can. I understand you guys want to make it just a three of us thing. While I’m sad about leaving my tea…” Jungeun trailed off. She really wanted to give herself a pat on the back. She was starting to get used to this whole communicating thing. “Let’s just go to The Three Broomsticks and get some butterbeers and then go to the salon because I want to dye my hair,” she instructed.

Jinsol and Sooyoung looked at each other again.

“Alright, baby.”

“Okay, babe.”

Jungeun took both of Sooyoung and Jinsol’s hands and led them out of the tea shop. She looked back at Sooyoung once more. Sooyoung was looking right back at her and nodded grimly. Jungeun tilted her head to the side in curiosity. Sooyoung looked over at Jinsol and bit her lip and then gave Jungeun an apologetic look.

Jungeun nodded slowly and looked back ahead. She couldn’t understand what Sooyoung was trying to tell her in her silent agony, but if anyone was going to find out why Sooyoung had been acting strangely first, it would be Jungeun.

It was always Jungeun who saw past the mask of a confident celebrity and embraced the scared girl underneath who was desperate to be loved.

* * *

“Jungie! Your hair… ugh I’m obsessed with it! It’s gorgeous!” Jiwoo squealed.

Jungeun let out a pained yelp as Jiwoo tugged on her now blonde hair for the millionth time. She whipped her head around to glare at her as the pair descended the dormitory stairwell. She moved her head out of the way and scowled in annoyance. “Could you stop touching my hair? You’re going to rip it out at this rate,” she hissed. “My scalp is very weak.”

Jiwoo flashed her a shit-eating grin. “Then why’d ya dye your hair if it was just going to make it fall out?”

“I- You-” Jungeun shrieked in frustration, digging her nails into her hair. “If you want to tug on something, just mess up my tie for all I care.”

“Ooh! Yes!” Jiwoo giggled and yanked on Jungeun’s Gryffindor tie, untying it and giggled as it slipped out of her vest.

Jungeun had a fond memory of teaching Jiwoo how to tie a tie during their first year. Jiwoo got away with making a bow tie, but she soon noticed that she was the only one doing it like that. Peer pressure got to the normally unapologetic, unique girl, and Jungeun felt bad for her. Jiwoo always felt like she had to take extra steps to conform because she was a Muggle-born. She didn’t naturally fit in. Everything wizard-born children learned in classes, Jiwoo had to learn twice as much. Jungeun definitely thought Jiwoo didn’t get a lot of credit for how hard she worked.

As they reached the common room, they noticed Heejin on the couch deeply invested in her History of Magic textbook.

“Is that Jeon Heejin reading?” Jungeun asked teasingly, coming up behind Heejin loudly.

“Upside down,” Jiwoo added on, “she’s reading upside down. How did you manage that?”

Heejin’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, no wonder I couldn’t understand what anything was!”

“Idiot,” Jungeun chuckled, plopping down on one of the armchairs by the fireplace. She swung her legs over the right arm and leaned back against the left. She chewed on her lower lip and gave Heejin a once over. “Are you just starting your homework this late? We have Herbology bright and early tomorrow.”

“I was… trying to study.” Heejin shrugged, dropping the book on the floor and patting the spot next to her so Jiwoo could join her. “I just don’t get how Hyunjin has an encyclopedic knowledge of everything yet she doesn’t want to be a professor when she’s done with school.”

Jungeun had never really heard anything about Hyunjin’s dreams and ambitions. She always assumed she had none, but Heejin had a better idea of who Hyunjin was than she did. “And what does Hyunjin want to do?”

“She wants to open a bakery,” Heejin deadpanned. “Name it Bread Bath & Beyond or something like that.”

Jiwoo giggled. “Like _Bed_ Bath & Beyond?”

“Shit, that’s an actual store?”

The three of them roared with laughter. Nothing like a bunch of rowdy sixth years making more noise than the crackling fire, no doubt waking up the little first years. It was a Monday night, after all, more than a week since Jungeun went on a date with Sooyoung and Jinsol. Much longer since Sooyoung started acting weird.

This past week had been no better. Never had Jungeun ever seen Jinsol seem so pissed off by Sooyoung for doing absolutely _nothing_. Now that the Durmstrang girl wasn’t actively trying to get under Jinsol’s skin, Jinsol’s complaining about Sooyoung’s behavior only increased. But while Jinsol ranted nonstop, out of the corner of Jungeun’s eye, she could see Sooyoung staring at Jinsol across the room.

Their nightly walks around the castle turned into Sooyoung and Jungeun sitting by the window and watching the moon reflect off the simmering Black Lake. Every time Sooyoung looked like she was about to start talking, she would change her mind and capture Jungeun’s lips into a gentle kiss. Jungeun understood. She knew what it was like to not want to talk about her feelings. So if she couldn’t be an ear to listen, she would gladly be a shoulder to lean on.

“I actually want to open a bakery too,” Jiwoo admitted quietly, face glowing orange from the bright fire.

Jungeun, pulled from her thoughts, looked at Jiwoo curiously. “A bakery? But didn’t you say you wanted to be Haseul’s trophy wife if she ever became Minister for Magic?”

Jiwoo nodded. “Yeah, I’d be her trophy wife _and_ a bakery owner. Women can do anything, Jungie. Don’t you forget that.”

Heejin yawned and stretched tiredly. “And if anybody tries and burns down your bakery, Jungeun and I will hex the hell out of them.”

“Damn right, we will,” Jungeun chuckled in agreement.

A comfortable silence fell between the three of them. Just the three Gryffindors, the original friend group minus Chaewon, chilling with a faint smell of smoke in the Gryffindor common room. _This_ was how Jungeun liked to spend her evenings.

She exhaled tiredly, leaning her head back against the back of the armchair. “What time is it?”

“About 9:15pm, why?” Heejin asked, glancing at the grandfather clock on the other side of the common room behind Jungeun.

“Sooyoung’s going to be here soon,” Jungeun informed her. She looked down at her tie and scowled. “Jiwoo, why did you mess this up so bad? There’s like two knots in it.”

“It was that or your hair!” Jiwoo shrugged unapologetically. “Gosh, I’m so glad I’m not on duty tonight. It’s never fun to patrol the castle unless I’m with Haseul.”

Heejin snorted. “Yeah, cause you guys go and make out in the broom closets!”

“Not true!”

 _“So_ true,” Jungeun smirked. “I overheard you guys about a few months ago. Jinsol and I were out past curfew, _sorry._ Haseul was begging you to sit on her lap. Honestly, it was so gross-”

“JUNGEUN!” Jiwoo squealed, face turning as red as the common room’s decorations. “Why didn’t you tell me about this? This is so embarrassing!”

Jungeun winked. “Blackmail material, baby.” She shot finger guns at Heejin, who looked confused by her gesture. Jungeun sighed awkwardly and scratched her head. Note to self: never do any Muggle gestures to purebloods. They are like your grandparents; they will _never_ get it.

Just then, the Fat Lady’s portrait screamed loudly. “WHAT IS GOING ON? GET OUT OF HERE! THIS ISN’T YOUR HOUSE!”

“HEY! Listen up! Where is Kim Jiwoo or Park Jihyo?” Slytherin Prefect Sihyeon yelled before banging loudly on the wall.

“DO NOT PUNCH ME, YOU SLYTHERIN FIEND!”

“Oh, oh… I guess you want me to be the good cop? Why does everybody expect that of me because I’m in Hufflepuff…” Hufflepuff Prefect Yiren cleared her throat. “WE NEED A GRYFFINDOR PREFECT OUT HERE NOW, OR I WILL PUT THIS LITTLE PUNK IN DETENTION!” Jungeun had to cover her ears because _boy_ that tiny girl could yell.

Jiwoo jolted off the couch. She barreled towards the portrait hole. “Oh, no. Oh, no. I’m not good at confrontation!” She cowered in fear and started whimpering.

Jungeun climbed out of the chair and rolled her eyes. “Oh, for goodness sake, this can’t be as bad as you think it will be.” She marched over to Jiwoo and wrapped her arm around her shoulders. She pulled the portrait open.

And gosh, it was as bad as Jiwoo probably thought it was going to be.

Sihyeon and Yiren were standing on both sides of Yeojin, grabbing onto her tightly like they had just caught her escaping prison.

“She’s one of yours, right?” Sihyeon asked.

Yeojin narrowed her eyes and stomped her foot loudly on the stone floor. “Don’t talk about me like I’m contraband!”

“I don’t think you know what contraband is,” Yiren pointed out. Her face faltered a bit. “...I don’t even know what contraband is.”

“Goods that have been imported or exported illegally,” Sihyeon explained.

“Thanks, Sihyeon.”

Jiwoo furrowed her brows in confusion. “Uh, thanks for returning her…?” She tilted her head to the side. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand what she did wrong.”

“Quite a few things, actually,” Sihyeon said. “I caught her in the dungeons first. She was being suspicious by Professor Kang’s storeroom. I asked her what she was doing, and she told me she had a meeting with Professor Kang. But, of course, Professor Kang’s office is on the sixth floor. _Everybody_ knows this. Thus, I went to chase her down… but she disappeared in a cloud of darkness!”

Yeojin shrugged. “I wasn’t doing anything wrong though.”

“You weren’t doing anything wrong _yet,_ ” Yiren corrected her. “On my way back from the library, I saw Yeojin coming out of the kitchen with her pockets full of bread rolls. I asked her what she was doing, and she said she was just getting a late-night snack. I followed behind her only to see that she was _trying_ to sneak into the Hufflepuff common room. That’s when Sihyeon came around the corner, and like the awesome double team we are, we caught her red-handed.”

“Red-handed for what!? Visiting Yerim?” Yeojin scowled and crossed her arms. “That’s not a crime.”

“You’re not allowed to be in other people’s common rooms, duh,” Yiren pointed out. She flipped her hair dramatically and looked at Jiwoo. “I’ll let you deal with her since she’s from your house, but if I were you I would take twenty-five points and give her detention.”

Yeojin’s eyes widened. “Twenty-five points? You’re a monster.”

Yiren blew her a kiss and made her way down the stairs.

Sihyeon shoved Yeojin forward slightly. She glanced up at Jiwoo and Jungeun and flashed a cool smile. “Oh, and if you see Yeri anytime soon, tell her that I’ve found the Gwenog Jones wizard card she’s been dying for.”

“Why don’t you tell her _yourself?_ She’s such a Slytherin lover anyway,” Yeojin snarked.

Sihyeon looked at Yeojin and then chuckled amusedly. “Pfft. Anyway… see you both in Herbology tomorrow morning.” She waved lazily and ran off to catch up with Yiren.

Yeojin cleared her throat awkwardly. “So…”

“So, what the _hell_ were you doing?” Jiwoo hissed. “Sneaking into storerooms? Common rooms? Yeojin… I know your brand is being a prankster, but Haseul gets so tired of seeing your name on the detention list every week.”

The tiny fifth year groaned frustratedly. “Ughhhh! Fine! Fine! Do you really wanna know what’s going on, you Nosey Nancy?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sort of interested too…” Jungeun admitted.

“Well, it all started about a week ago after I found out _my_ Yerim was going on a date with Chaeryeong. I was so pissed off, okay? Like, Yerim and I are so close. I thought we were on the same page. I like her. She likes me. Well… apparently not!” The girl huffed and shook her head in disbelief. “I just knew that I had to get revenge and make her fall for me again. Chaewon told me that you guys learned about the most _powerful_ love potion ever. So I figured… what if I spiked some treats with Amortentia and gave it to Yerim?”

Jungeun and Jiwoo exchanged terrified looks. _I do not like where this is going,_ Jungeun thought to herself.

“So, when you were at the tea shop with Yerim and Chaeryeong, those chocolate cauldrons I gave her were spiked with love potions,” Yeojin explained. “However… none of them seemed to work. She didn’t act in love with me at all. In fact, she kept acting the same. It was so weird. Most powerful love potion in the world? Nonsense! So, I figured… maybe I didn’t give her enough. So this entire week I’ve been giving her treats spiked with Amortentia, hoping she will _finally_ start fawning over me.”

Jungeun’s hands slowly crept up into her hair, and she let out the most frustrating shriek she could muster. “YOU KEPT GIVING YERIM AMORTENTIA? HOW MUCH?”

“Uhhh, there’s about a vial left in Professor Kang’s store… Why?” Only now did Yeojin look apprehensive.

“Yeojin, you fucking idiot!” Jungeun swore. “Professor Kang said that Amortentia is toxic in high quantities! She’s probably dying! That’s why she isn’t acting interested in you!”

“I KILLED YERIM?” Yeojin screamed. She jumped up and clutched Jiwoo for dear life, burying her head into her chest, and wailed. “WHAT DO I DOOOOO?”

“I-” Jungeun looked around frantically. It seemed like she would be cleaning up another person’s mess again. That seemed to be her specialty anyway. She looked at Jiwoo and sighed softly. “Jiwoo, you calm her down. I’m going to go get Yerim and bring her to Professor Kang.”

Jiwoo nodded and saluted. “Understood! And do I punish her?”

“You’re the prefect here,” Jungeun said, rolling her eyes. “You do what’s best.”

“Muahahaha, no iPod Shuffle for a week,” Jiwoo cackled as she pulled Yeojin inside the common room. “Hey, Yeo, it’s gonna be alright, okay? Jungeun’s got this. She’s going to fix this. She has a remarkable ability to slide easily out of sticky situations. You’re in good hands.”

 _I sure hope so,_ Jungeun thought as the portrait of the Fat Lady slammed behind them. She took a deep breath and fixed her tie, taking off into a run down the stairs to make her way to the Hufflepuff common room.

“Why are you being so weird?”

“Jinsol, listen, I don’t want to deal with this now. Just go away.”

“Whatever the hell you’re doing, Sooyoung? You better stop it. It’s _not_ funny. I know this is part of some elaborate prank to try and embarrass me. So, stop it. Now.”

“This persistence is making you look insane.”

“ _Va te faire foutre._ Hey! Stop walking so fast! I’m talking to you!”

“Jungeun? Jungeun! Where are you going?”

Jungeun didn’t even notice that she had whizzed past Sooyoung and Jinsol arguing on their way up the stairs. Nor did she really even notice they were there. She was too wrapped up in trying to _fix_ this mess. She looked at Sooyoung and Jinsol and breathed heavily. There was no time to explain, and there was no doubt Sooyoung and Jinsol were both arguing because they wanted to see her. So, why not make everyone happy?

She grabbed both of their wrists. “I’ve got a big situation I’ve been forced to deal with. I don’t really have time to figure out why you two are fighting _again._ So either you two come with me, or I let you two argue like two _idiots_ like you always do.”

Sooyoung looked back at Jinsol then turned to Jungeun, relief washing over her face. “Let’s go solve your problem.”

Jinsol’s eyes widened. “But-”

“Come on, Jinsol… Why don’t you worry about something worthwhile?” Jungeun was surprised Sooyoung’s question wasn’t asked in a teasing tone.

“Are you trying to say you’re not worth- Ugh!” Jinsol shook her head in defeat, shooting Sooyoung a quick glare that made the brunette tense up a bit before looking back at Jungeun with a somewhat less tense expression. “Alright, Jungeun, what’s the issue?”

“So I’m pretty damn sure Yeojin has been actively poisoning Yerim to death…”

* * *

“I’m not sure where you guys are taking me,” Yerim said quietly as the three of them escorted Yerim down the sixth-floor corridor.

They had come to the Hufflepuff common room in a hurry, practically begging for Yiren to go fetch Yerim. Even though Haseul had told Jungeun that it was very easy for anyone outside of Hufflepuff to get into the common room because there was no password, she didn’t think the Hufflepuffs would be too pleased by her entering without permission with two non-Hogwarts students. Once they got their hands on the cheerful fifth year, Jungeun and Sooyoung were quick to grab her by her arms and drag her out of the kitchen corridors.

Yerim’s cheerfulness had dropped as soon as she realized she was probably getting kidnapped. But this only happened when they reached the fourth-floor landing, Yerim was way too gullible and kind for her own good.

“We’re taking you to Professor Kang’s office,” Jungeun informed her firmly. “She’ll know what to do.”

She shook her head defiantly. “Professor Kang does not like to be disturbed at night unless it’s an emergency. It’s her me-time, you know? She’s very particular about this.”

 _“This_ is an emergency,” Jinsol hissed, having gone full protective mode once she found out that Yerim was in danger. “Yerim, be honest with me… how many of those chocolate cauldrons did you eat a day?”

“About half a box each day, why?”

Sooyoung’s brows shot up. “Geez, that’s gotta be four doses of love potion a day,” she remarked.

“Love potions!?” Yerim’s eyes widened in horror, grip on Jungeun’s arm suddenly tightening. “What’s… what’s… when did I take a love potion?”

“Nice going, Sooyoung!” Jinsol growled. “Now, you’ve got her all upset. I was hoping we would be able to keep her calm before we got to Professor Kang.”

Sooyoung shrugged and glanced down at her feet. “I’m sorry, Jinsol…” she muttered.

“Sorry. You’re sorry!?” Jinsol’s nostrils flared, and she whipped her head around to glare at Sooyoung. “What is wrong with you!? Why won’t you fight back? Who died, Sooyoung? Seriously, you’re so infuriating!” She was about to start yelling more, but a bit of her hair got caught in her mouth from her head moving dramatically as she belittled Sooyoung. “Ugh!” she spat.

The poor girl seemed to cower from Jinsol’s frustration. “I’m trying to give you what you want…” she trailed off. Jungeun looked at Sooyoung. She wasn’t sure she was supposed to hear that.

“Hey, lay off Sooyoung, alright?” Jungeun requested. “We need to focus on Yerim.”

“Lay off Sooyoung?” Jinsol repeated with a snort.

Jungeun gave Jinsol a pleading look. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach like she had been here before. Like she had been here so many times before. Stuck in the middle pulling two opposing forces back together. At some point, she should stop. Maybe Sooyoung and Jinsol were just never meant to get along with each other.

The other blonde sighed. “Alright, fine.” She glanced at Sooyoung briefly, frowning slightly when she noticed Sooyoung wasn’t even looking at her. Her brows furrowed, and Jungeun could sense she was desperate to say something, but she relented. Jungeun smiled relievingly.

“Love potions… I don’t understand,” Yerim muttered. “If I had a bunch of love potions, wouldn’t I be like off the rockers lovesick right now?” She looked at Jungeun worriedly. “But I feel perfectly fine. I don’t feel like I’m dying either”

Jungeun patted Yerim’s back sympathetically. “I didn’t learn much about the side effects of Amortentia. That’s why we’re bringing you to the best of the best.”

“Master Suho is also a brilliant Potions Master,” Sooyoung remarked.

“Madame Hani is on a Chocolate Frog card for her achievements in potion-making,” Jinsol added on.

Jungeun rolled her eyes. “This is _not_ a competition!”

The four of them finally reached Professor Kang’s office. It was at the end of the corridor near a giant stained glass window and a portrait of a reindeer that hid a secret passage to the dungeons, according to Yerim. The door to her office was made of fine mahogany, and there was a gold plated sign right in the middle of it that read:

_Kang Seulgi, Professor of Potions, Head of Hufflepuff House, Hogwarts Alumnae._

_Please knock! I am happy to help! :)_

“Look at the little smiley face,” Jinsol cooed. “That’s so cute.” She turned to her companions and smiled. “So, who’s going to-”

Sooyoung stepped forward and pounded loudly on the door.

“...Okay then.” Jinsol cleared her throat.

The door swung open. Jungeun nearly shrieked in surprise. She did not expect to see their Charms professor in a partially buttoned-up silk shirt and messy hair barely covering her rosy cheeks. “Oh… hello.” She turned back to shout inside the office. “Seulgi, it’s for you!”

“Wannie, why did you answer _my_ door?” Professor Kang whined from inside the office.

“If it was Yeri or Joy again, I was going to tell them to piss off,” Professor Son answered.

Jungeun and Yerim exchanged looks. This was no surprise. Everyone sort of suspected that the two heads of houses were seeing each other. Just from the way they acted around each other alone, they reminded Jungeun of an old married couple.

However, Jungeun _was_ surprised by the third voice coming from Professor Kang’s office.

“Seungwan, Seulgi, _mes chères,_ come back over to the fireplace. I’m getting cold.”

“MADAME BAE!?” Jinsol shrieked.

A glass shattered inside the office, and someone swiftly stood up and shrieked. Sooyoung covered her mouth and stifled a laugh.

Just then, a very tiny, angry headmistress came marching to the door from the couch behind Professor Son. She gently pushed Professor Son to the side and began shouting at Jinsol in French.

_“Jung Jinsol! Pourquoi es-tu ici? Tu te moques de moi en ce moment?”_

_“Madame, je suis désolée. Je ne vous croyais pas là.”_

_“Tu ne parleras jamais de ça.”_

_“Je ne le ferai pas. Je vous promets.”_

(TRANSLATION:

“Jung Jinsol! Why are you here? Are you kidding me right now?”

“Madame, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were here.”

“You will never speak of this.”

“I won’t. I promise.”)

Madame Bae crossed her arms over her chest protectively and looked at the girls in front of her and then back at the two professors. Behind her cold, hard glare, Jungeun could tell she was highly embarrassed. She wanted to laugh, but she couldn’t imagine how Jinsol was feeling now. If she caught Professor Taemin with two Beauxbatons professors, she would probably be just as traumatized.

Sooyoung let out a forced chuckle. “Well, this isn’t something you see every day.”

Madame Bae glared at her. “Durmstrang champion, you are on thin ice. Don’t think I’d hesitate to sabotage you during the third task. I tried to sabotage you during the first, and I’ll do it again.”

Sooyoung gulped and looked away. “She’s scary,” she whispered into Jungeun’s ear.

“I suppose I shall take my leave now. I will be returning to my carriage,” Madame Bae straightened her back, trying and failing to hide how flustered she was.

Professor Son placed a hand on her back and smiled reassuringly. “I can escort you, Irene. It’s no problem-”

“It’s Madame Bae to you now! There are students here!”

The Charms professor seemed unfazed by Madame Bae’s lashing out. Instead, she chuckled gently. “Well, I could tell you a few stories about Jinsol that I haven’t yet since I was her head of house for a year.” She guided Madame Bae out of Professor Kang’s office and waved at the Potions professor then motioned for Yerim, Jinsol, Sooyoung, and Jungeun to move out of the way. “So, I was teaching them the Disillusionment Charm, and Jinsol…” Professor Son’s voice died out as she escorted the Beauxbatons headmistress out of earshot.

Jungeun didn’t wanna lie and say that exchange wasn’t amusing, but poor Yerim was still left unattended. She couldn’t help but worry if Yerim was now even closer to her death. _Oh, Jungeun, don’t be irrational,_ she thought.

“Professor Kang,” Jungeun called out, peeking through the doorway to see Professor Kang sweeping up the glass on the floor. “Can we please come in? It’s an emergency.”

Professor Kang bolted up, eyes widening. “Oh, dear, why didn’t you say so? Oh, I suppose Seungwan and Irene distracted you. Please, come in!” She ushered the four girls inside her office. “Can I offer you tea? Coffee? Or should we get straight to the point… Who needs help with their essay?”

Her office was quite impressive, in all honesty. The drapes were bright gold, and she had two cream-colored couches near the fireplace. Jungeun couldn’t help but notice a large wine stain on the left side, but she figured that must’ve been made recently. On the opposite end of Professor Kang’s desk were a large cauldron and a ten-foot tall cabinet filled with potions and potion supplies no doubt. Jungeun also noticed a sizable balcony overlooking the Black Lake on the north end of the office.

“Well… actually, Professor,” Jungeun started to say, “you told us in your lesson that it’s toxic to have Amortentia in large amounts, and Yerim has been given about four doses of love potion a day for the past week.

“Oh my!” Professor Kang gasped. “Yerim, dear, how are you feeling?” She strode over to the younger girl and led her to the couch. “Are you hopelessly pining? Filled with nothing but obsessive thoughts? Talk to me, sweetheart.”

Yerim blinked as she sat down. “Is it bad if I don’t feel anything? Like I feel no different than ever… is that bad? Am I broken?”

Professor Kang shook her head. “Not at all. You are _far_ from broken. Having no symptoms isn’t unheard of. I can get you the antidote anyway-”

“But what about the high toxicity!” Jinsol interjected. “Yerim could die!”

The professor blinked and then burst out laughing. “Oh, that’s just a lie I told my sixth years so they wouldn’t go snooping into my storeroom and steal all of my Amortentia, but somebody didn’t heed my warning because it’s nearly all gone now. Who was giving her the love potions?”

“Im Yeojin,” Jungeun answered.

“A fifth year…? How would she know about it unless-” A knowing look formed on her features. “Park Chaewon.”

Sooyoung raised a brow. “No offense, Professor, but how would you know if it was Chaewon?”

“Every time something goes wrong, it cleanses my soul to blame her.”

Yerim frowned. “But if Yeojin was giving me love potions… that makes no sense.” She tilted her head to the side. “She wouldn’t need to! I like her already. Was she mad because I took Chaeryeong on a date? That didn’t mean anything! I was just trying to make her-”

Professor Kang giggled cutely. “Aw, young love is so adorable, but just you saying you like Yeojin tells me all I need to know.” She patted Yerim on the back. “The potion is completely void when you use it on someone who already has feelings for you. It doesn’t change anything because you can’t exactly recreate love that already exists, right?”

Sooyoung, who was examining Professor Kang’s many strange artifacts and multi-colored vials, gasped softly and turned around. “So… hypothetically, you could use Amortentia to figure out if someone likes you back or not, right?

Jinsol furrowed her brows and looked at Sooyoung curiously, but Professor Kang answered Sooyoung’s question before she could open her mouth and ask her own questions. “Yes, you could, and many of my students have before in the past. Although, it ruins the whole _mystery_ of being able to figure out if your crush likes you back or not. And if they don’t, well, you could just pretend for the few hours they’re obsessively ‘in love’ with you,” she explained.

“That’s… good to know,” Sooyoung said, lips pursing in thought.

“Why would you need to though?” Jinsol pried. “You already have the girl of your dreams. Of _our_ dreams.”

Jungeun giggled giddily and hid her face. “Stop! That’s so sweet.”

Professor Kang smiled adoringly at the three girls and then turned back to Yerim. “Does that answer your questions, dear? Do you still want the antidote just in case?”

“No, no!” Yerim shook her head adamantly. “But… I was wondering if you could give me some advice about how to move forward? I don’t know if you’re good at relationship advice, but maybe now is the time to actually make things clear with Yeojin.”

“I’d be happy to help!”

Jungeun sighed and crossed her arms, turning to Sooyoung and Jinsol. “I guess that’s our cue to leave?”

Sooyoung nodded. “Yeah, I’ll escort you back, babe. Coming, Jinsol?”

Jinsol shook her head. “No, actually… I _do_ need to ask Professor Kang a few questions about the Scintillation Solution essay we’re supposed to write. I really don’t know what we’re supposed to be writing that about.”

Professor Kang beamed. “Perfect! I’ll make more tea. I have a feeling this will be my most fun office hours yet.”

Yerim smiled shyly, leaning into Jinsol when the blonde took a seat next to her. “Oh, Sooyoung and Jungeun, before you go… Thank you so much for your help. I know you were trying your very best to protect me even if the poisoning wasn’t true. Still… thank you.”

Jungeun smiled back. “Of course, Yerim. Yeojin was really worried about you. I imagine she still is.”

Sooyoung nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it was no sweat.” She held her hand out for Jungeun to take. The blonde immediately skipped over to grab Sooyoung’s hand. She nuzzled into her side and let the Durmstrang girl lead the way as they exited Professor Kang’s office.

Now, they could go on their nightly walk. Jungeun squeezed Sooyoung’s hand gently and ran her thumb over the back of her palm. Sooyoung sighed blissfully and turned to look down at Jungeun. She thought back to the question Sooyoung asked Professor Kang, and it piqued her curiosity. Why would Sooyoung want to know if Amortentia could help her find out if her crush liked her back? Sooyoung _knew_ Jungeun liked her, and dare Jungeun say more than liked… adored.

Yet given Sooyoung’s behavior, and how Jungeun was afraid of Sooyoung snapping at her or shutting her out like she did with Jinsol, she figured she should gently coax Sooyoung into telling her what was wrong.

“Are you okay?”

Sooyoung’s breath hitched. “Have I not been hiding it well enough?”

Jungeun furrowed her brows at that. “Jinsol’s been worried about you. _I’ve_ been worried about you.”

Her face faltered. She took a deep breath and squeezed Jungeun’s hand. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to worry you.”

“Did… something happen?”

“I-” Sooyoung’s eyes darted around the corridor like she was trying to look for an escape route, but there was no escape from Jungeun and her pleading eyes. “I don’t really know how to explain it. I need… I need time to gather my thoughts. Could we… could we talk about it tomorrow?”

Now, Sooyoung was the one looking at Jungeun with pleading eyes. Jungeun could never say no to Ha Sooyoung. “Okay.”

Sooyoung smiled at her gratefully. “Thank you.”

They walked down the corridor in silence. Jungeun’s heart rate increased as they got closer and closer to the Grand Staircase. A dreadful question engulfed her mind. _What if Sooyoung wants to break up with me?_ In hindsight, she knew she shouldn’t be worried. Sooyoung always gave Jungeun her all even when she was acting peculiar. But insecurity always came knocking when Jungeun didn’t have all the information she needed.

She stopped in the middle of the hallway and turned to face Sooyoung. Her lip quivered slightly as she cupped Sooyoung’s cheeks, looking into her soft, warm eyes. “Are we okay?” she whispered like she feared the answer.

Sooyoung leaned forward and pressed their foreheads together. She gently grasped Jungeun’s wrists and nodded ever so subtly. “We’ll always be okay, Jungeun.”

Jungeun exhaled shakily, relief drowning her senses. She leaned in and kissed Sooyoung, letting the older girl take her into her arms as she kissed back soothingly.

Sooyoung still smelled like cocoa.

* * *

The Transfiguration Courtyard was notably packed around noon. Jungeun and her friends had just finished their Herbology class. Jungeun hated how her hands still smelled like fertilizer. Their next class was canceled in favor of another Apparition lesson with some stuffy short wizard from the Ministry. Jungeun couldn’t say she truly enjoyed the lessons, but the reward for taking these lessons meant an Apparition License, and that was of equal importance to wizards as a driver’s license.

“Hyunjin, are you done?” Heejin asked impatiently as she watched the dark-haired Durmstrang girl rummage through her bookbag. The strange items Hyunjin had taken out of her bag made Jungeun wonder _how_ she could carry around all this stuff. She had taken out her fifth Boxing Telescope when Jungeun began to ask questions.

“Why do you carry all this stuff, Hyunjin?” Jungeun asked.

Hyunjin shrugged. “You never know when you could need them.”

Heejin rolled her eyes. “Why would you need an Anti-Gravity Hat for schoolwork?”

“I have a great fear of my stuff being stolen. One girl in my year tended to do that, so I stole her stuff back, and then I figured out that stealing is fun, so I kept doing it.”

Heejin and Jungeun exchanged bewildered looks.

“That’s so…”

“Oh, Hyunjin, every day I find more things I find cool about you!”

Jungeun shot Heejin a confused glance. Come to think of it, Jungeun had witnessed strange behavior when it came to Heejin and Hyunjin. Years ago, sometimes Hyunjin would send gifts with her letters. They varied from thoughtful to totally bizarre. Bread recipes, dungbombs, a lock of the stray cat that hung around Durmstrang’s hair, Acid Pops, and a golden snitch signed by Yves. Jungeun threw quite the tantrum when she saw Heejin parade that gift around.

She figured she would never understand how Hyunjin and Heejin work. But they seemed happy, and Jungeun was more than happy to support them if Heejin continued to always be this cheerful.

“So, who do you think is going to apparate first successfully?” Jungeun asked, changing the subject. Her nose scrunched up in disgust when she noticed Heejin and Hyunjin brushing their noses against each other. “Are you serious!? I’m right here!”

Heejin scowled. “I’ve had to deal with you and Jinsol for almost two years now, _and_ I’ve had to deal with you and Sooyoung. You can handle our mild PDA.”

Hyunjin patted Heejin on the head. “Oh, yes. And to answer your question, it’ll be me. I already know how to apparate.”

Normally, Jungeun would be shocked, but this was _Kim Hyunjin._ Hyunjin was literally the brightest witch of her age.

“I learned around a year ago, maybe?” Hyunjin elaborated. “Miss Sunmi told me to keep it under wraps because I was apparating without a license, and since I wasn’t old enough to… well, you get the point.”

Heejin smiled adoringly, gasping when a sudden gust of cold wind brushed her hair in front of her face. “Well, if you’re so smart, maybe you should give us all advice on how to master apparating?”

Hyunjin nodded and reached up to brush some of Heejin’s hair out of her face. “I think the most important thing to remember is the three Ds. I know the Ministry official sounds so dumb, but he does mean well.” She bobbed her head from side to side as she listed off the three Ds. “Destination. Determination. Deliberation.” She flashed Jungeun a small smile. “Attention to detail is important. Otherwise, you’ll end up getting splinched.”

“Yeah. That’s definitely no fun…” Jungeun trailed off when she noticed Yerim and Chaeryeong walking across the courtyard. They must have just gotten out of Ancient Runes. And to her amusement and surprise, Yeojin burst out of the door from the Charms corridor and ran towards Yerim haggardly.

“Yerim!” Yeojin yelled. “You’re alive!”

Yerim giggled. “Of course, I’m alive, silly!”

“But the love potions…”

“I’m fine! I swear!”

Chaeryeong’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Love potions? Yerim, what is she talking about?”

Yerim bit her lip. She placed a hand on Chaeryeong’s arm and smiled shyly. “Um, can you give Yeojin and me a minute? I’d like to talk to her about something.”

The other Hufflepuff nodded. “Sure thing. I’ll see you at lunch? I’ll make sure to save you some pudding!” Chaeryeong practically skipped away. Jungeun had to laugh. She was too kind for her own good. Most Hufflepuffs were. Emphasis on _most._ Some Hufflepuffs were clearly more loyal than they were kind-hearted.

Yeojin stuffed her hands in the pockets of her robes. “Yerim, I’m really, really sorry about everything. I guess I was a tiny bit too dramatic? I just thought… Well, honestly, I don’t know what I thought! I was jealous of you and Chaeryeong because I kind of thought we were a thing?” She sighed agitatedly. “Well, I thought you liked me.”

“I do like you,” Yerim confirmed, “but it was so cute that you were jealous. That was Chaeryeong and I’s intention.”

“Huh?”

“Oh, well, you see… Chaeryeong just went through a really bad break-up with Lia. The Chaser from Ravenclaw? Apparently, Lia liked Ryujin, but Ryujin liked Yeji. So Lia originally used Chaeryeong as a rebound, but then Chaeryeong caught feelings, and Ryujin got jealous-”

Yeojin’s nose scrunched up. “That’s so complicated.”

“Yeah, I know.” Yerim shrugged. “So long story short, Chaeryeong and I both had reasons to try and make you and Lia jealous. That didn’t end up working out on Chaeryeong’s end. Yeojin… I never meant to upset you, but I was getting impatient, and you _never_ made a move. Like, yeah, the Yule Ball was something, but then you kept calling me ‘my friend, Yerim!’ in front of everyone!”

Yeojin’s jaw dropped in embarrassment. Her gaze moved from side to side, and then she swallowed the lump in her throat. “Oh… Wow. I had no idea.” She scratched her head nervously. “Are you mad at me?”

“When I thought you poisoned me, yes, I was a little mad, but Professor Kang gave me the antidote and explained everything to me. I’m not upset. Honestly, I find it a little funny.” She grinned cheerfully. “You were too scared to confess your feelings for me, so you gave me candy stuffed with love potions. You’re so cuuuute.”

“Shut up!”

“I like you.”

“...I like you too.”

The two girls embraced tightly. Yerim picked Yeojin up and spun her around while the Gryffindor giggled loudly.

Yeojin sighed contently. “I’m sorry, Yerim. Will you ever forgive me?”

“Are you ever going to apologize to Yeri too?” Yerim bobbed her head in the direction of a group of Slytherins and a lone Gryffindor walking among them.

Her expression softened a bit before she nodded. “Later, I will. I’m kind of embarrassed about that whole fiasco still.”

“That’s okay. As long as you will eventually. That wasn’t very nice of you.”

Yeojin pouted and clung to Yerim tighter. “I know. I was being a dick then. It won’t happen again.” She stood on her toes and kissed her cheek. “Do you wanna go to lunch with me?”

Yerim nodded. “Sure! But Chaeryeong’s going to join us.”

“I know. I know,” Yeojin laughed, “so that’s why you’re gonna carry me to the Great Hall on your back.”

The two girls giggled again as Yerim squatted down so Yeojin could hop onto her back. Yerim carried Yeojin back into the castle. Jungeun couldn’t help but smile. Thank goodness the two girls made up easily, and now Jungeun didn’t have to worry about Yeojin acting out because of Yerim again. It was a win-win situation for everyone.

But out of the corner of her eye, Jungeun noticed something. Sooyoung was sneaking out of Transfiguration. She furrowed her brows. Sooyoung and Jinsol weren’t due to end class for another fifteen minutes. That’s why Jungeun was waiting in the courtyard for them. So why was Sooyoung sneaking out? Another thing to add to the comprehensive list of strange behaviors Ha Sooyoung was exhibiting.

As Sooyoung made her way into the door that led up the stairs into the viaduct, Jungeun knew she had to follow her.

She turned back to Heejin and Hyunjin apprehensively. “I’ll catch you both later at lunch. I want to check something.”

Without another word, she followed after Sooyoung, somewhat nervous about where the older girl was leading them.

* * *

Jungeun had truly no idea where Sooyoung was going or what her plans were. First, she followed her through the hallway covered by tapestry. Then, they went down the viaduct stairs. Sooyoung then veered right and made her way down the long, winding spiral staircase to the dungeon corridor. Here, things got tricky.

Sooyoung must have figured out someone was following her because she kept making strange turns down odd corridors. She wondered if Sooyoung was trying to find the Slytherin common room. But that made no sense because the only Slytherin Sooyoung really was close to was Hyejoo. She took a sharp left. Jungeun slid along the walls to try and catch up with her.

Perhaps this was not a smart idea, she felt like she was tracking and hunting down prey. It was weird. She didn’t like it.

Sooyoung then stopped and pulled something out of her pocket.

 _What is she doing?_ Jungeun thought as she pressed herself against the wall harder so if Sooyoung turned around, she wouldn’t be able to see her.

She dropped something on the ground, and Jungeun was enveloped by darkness.

Great. Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder.

Jungeun pulled out her wand. _“Lumos,”_ she whispered. Even with the light glowing from her wand, she couldn’t see through the deep darkness ahead of her.

She was running out of options. In fact, she had no options except for running full speed into the darkness hoping to find Sooyoung. Jungeun admittedly was afraid of being in total darkness for that much time.

So, she took a deep breath and ran into the darkness. She breathed heavily, holding her hands out to feel for any obstacles as her feet echoed on the cobblestone floor.

“Oof!”

Well, she just ran smack dab into Sooyoung.

Sooyoung swore loudly. “Who is this? Fuck!” She grabbed Jungeun’s shoulders and pulled her into an adjacent room. Sooyoung closed the door behind them and exhaled heavily. Jungeun tilted her head back and jolted when she heard glass rattling behind her. Sooyoung turned on the light, and her breath hitched. “Jungeun!?”

Jungeun bit her lip. “Hi…?”

“You scared me. I thought you were a professor.”

“Sooyoung, what the hell are you doing!?” Jungeun hissed. “Why are you in… Professor Kang’s storeroom!?”

Sooyoung’s brows furrowed and moved her hand to cover her pocket. Jungeun looked at her curiously. Did she try and steal something too? No way… She was stooping to Yeojin’s level.

“I just had to know, okay?” Sooyoung answered. “I had to know…”

“Had to know what?”

“I stole some potions.” She pulled three vials out of her pocket. A colorless one, a gold one, and a shimmering one. Jungeun could smell her palette again.

Vanilla, dragon hide, smoke, cocoa lotion, the sea, a polished broom handle...

Jungeun huffed and rolled her eyes, snapping out of her thoughts. “I know you did! Stop deflecting!”

Sooyoung winced at Jungeun’s snapping. “I’m sorry, Jungeun. I- I don’t know what to do,” she whispered. She, too, slumped back against the other shelf of the storeroom. She ran a hand through her hair frustratedly. “I know I’ve been weird. I don’t feel like myself. It’s hard to… act like myself because I think I’m trying to appease someone.”

“Sooyoung…”

Her lower lip quivered. “Baby, I don’t know what she wants from me. _I_ don’t know what I want from her. I have to… I have to figure out if I should continue sitting in this craziness.”

 _“Who_ are you talking about?”

Sooyoung gave her a nervous, pleading look, begging her to figure it out on her own.

_“Oh.”_

She sniffled, shoulders shaking. Jungeun had never seen Sooyoung this distraught. “Please… You have to help me, Jungeun.”

“How am I… How am I supposed to help you if you won’t tell me what’s going on?” Jungeun asked seriously. She stepped forward and took Sooyoung into her arms. “I want to be able to help you make sense of this _craziness._ Remember, I’m not just the one worried about you. We both are, okay?”

Sooyoung seemed to stiffen at the word _‘we.’_

Jungeun squeezed Sooyoung tighter. “We are,” she repeated. She took a deep breath and stroked her hair gently. “Please, Sooyoung…”

The Durmstrang girl took a deep breath. She bit down hard on her lip and stared directly into her eyes.

“This whole restlessness and agitation… the feelings I’ve been getting started around the Quidditch match a few weeks ago. Perhaps even earlier, like after the Second Task…” She paused. Her gaze moved down to her feet.

“In all honesty, I think it started when my world _literally_ collided with Jung Jinsol on October 30th.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the cliff-hanger! actually, no, i’m not. :) also sorry if the french is incorrect, my french is a little rusty! i’m going to aim for the next chapter coming out within two to three weeks! definitely before i go back to campus in january. once that comes out, then we’ll see what comes next because my semester may be just as tough as the last one! once again, thank you all for your patience and support. happy new year everyone! <3
> 
> twitter:  
> @hyeiipves  
> curious cat:  
> curiouscat.me/hyeslipse


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